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. DISCUSSION 



ON 



AMERICAN SLAVERY, 



BETWEEN 



GEORGE THOMPSON, ESQ., 

AGENT OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN SOCIETY FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY THROUGHOUT 

THE WORLD, AND 



REV. ROBERT J. BRECKINRIDGE, 

DELEGATE FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES TO 
THE CONGREGATIONAL UNION OF ENGLAND AND WALES : 



HOLDEN IN THE 



REV. DR. WARDLAW'S CHAPEL, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND} 



On the Evenings of the I3th, 14th, 15th, I61I1, 17th of June, 1836.. 



SECOND AMERICAN EDITION, 



WITH NOTES, BY MR. GARRISON. 



BOSTON : 

PUBLISHED BY ISAAC KNAPP, 
, 46, WASHINGTON STREET. 

1836. 



CONDITIONS OF THE DISCUSSION. 

This discussion was held, by previous arrangement, in Dr. Wardlaw's Chapel, and conducted 
under the following regulations : — 

I. That the discussion shall commence on Monday, the 13th June, at half-past six o'clock, 
evening, precisely, and shall be resumed every succeeding evening, at the same hour, till finished. 

II. Thai each speaker shall occupy lialf an hour, alternately. The discussion shall not exceed 
tliree hours each evening. 

III. That the admission shall be by tickets, at 6d each: the number to be limited to 1,200. 

IV. That neither of the speakers shall, upon any pretext whatever, be interrupted in the de 
livery of his sentiments. 

V. That the object of the discussion being to elicit information as to the facts of the case — no 
to propose any questions for formal decision — no vote of the audience shall be taken at the close. 

Doors to be opened at five o'clock. No children under twelve years of age to be admitted 
unless accompanied by parents or guardians. 



In Exjohango 
CSovneVL rTniv. 






? INTRODUCTION 



The following were the preliminary steps connected with the Discussion reported in the 
succeeding pages : — 

Mr. Breckinridge's Letter, expressing his willingness to meet Mr. Thompson at Glasgow, 
was occasioned by the following passage in Mr. Thompson's Letter, which appeared in the 
London Patriot, in reply to the extracts inserted in that Journal, from the work published 
by the Rev. Drs. Cox and Hoby, entitled ' The Baptists in America.' 

' In the mean time, I am ready to meet Dr. Cox in Exeter Hall, in his own Chapel, or in 
any other building, to justify my charges against America and American Ministers; my 
general policy in the Anti-Slavery cause, and any particular act of which Dr. Cox com- 
plains. I am ready, also, and anxious to meet any American clergyman, or other gentle- 
man, in any part of Great Britain, to discuss the general question, or the propriety of that 
interference, of which so much has been said by persons who are otherwise engaged, and 
most praiseworthily so, in interfering with the institutions, social, political, and religious, of 
every other quarter of the Globe.' 



MR. THOMPSON'S CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 

To the Editor of the London Patriot. 
SIR,— 

A friend in this city, with whom I have slopped for a day or two, on my way to Scotland, 
has put into my hands your paper of the 23d inst., which contains Mr. George Thompson's 
letter of the 13th, attacking Dr. Cox. ° 

As to the difficulties which exist between those two gentlemen, I, of course, have no 
right to speak. 

Mr. Thompson, however, has not contented himself with urging a particular controversy 
with Dr. Cox :— nor even a general controversy, free for all who desire to engage him, or call 
in question his 'charges against America, and American Ministers' — as ° slaveholding 
Ministers and Christians on the other side of the water.' ' But,' says he, « I am ready, also, 
and anxious to meet any American clergyman, or other gentleman, in 'any part of Great 
Britam, to discuss the general question, &c. : ' that is, the general question of his ' charges 
against America and American Ministers, touching the whole subject of African slavery^in 
that country.' 

After mature and prayerful consideration, and full consultation with a few friends, I am 
not able to see how I can avoid taking notice of this direct, and almost personal chaljenoe ; 
which I have some reason to suspect, was probably intended for me. ° 

And yet I feel myselfencompassed with many difficulties. Foc^ome may consider me defend- 
ing the institution of slavery ; whereas, I myself believe it to be contrary to the spirit of the 
gospel, and the natural rights of men. Others might naturally look for more full proofs and 
more e.xact information, than I can give, when relying almost entirely upon mere memory. 
While by far the greater part, 1 much fear, are as impatient of all investigation on the sub- 
ject, as, I am sorry to say, they seem to me totally unacquainted with its real condition in 
America. 

I have concluded, however, to accept the somewhat boastful challenge of Mr. Thomp- 
son. And I trust the following suggestions and conditions will he considred most reason- 
abJe, when the peculiar circumstances of the case are considered : — 

1. I will meet Mr. Thompson at Glasgow, any time during the three first weeks of June 
and spend three or four hours a day, for as many days consecutively, as may be necessary— 
m discussing the ' general question,' as involved in his « charges again&t America, and 
American Ministers,' in reference to the whole subject of slavery there 



Introduction. 

2. But as my whole object is to get before the British churches certain views and sugges- 
tions on this subject, which I firmly believe are indispensable, to prevent the total aliena- 
tion of British and American christians from each other ; I shall not consider it necessary 
to commence the discussion at all, unless such arrangements are previously made, as will 
secure the publication, in a cheap and permanent form, of all that is said and done on the 
occasion. 

3. I must insist on a patient and fair hearing, by responsible persons. Therefore, I will 
agree that the audience shall consist of a select number of gentlemen, say from fifty to five 
hundred ; to be admitted by ticket only, — and a committee previously agreed on to distri- 
bute the tickets — only to respectable persons. 

I take it for granted that Mr. Thompson would himself prefer Glasgow to any other city, 
for the scene of this meeting : as it is the home of his most active supporters. And while 
the selection of the particular time of it cannot be important to him, my own previous 
arrangements are such, as to leave me no wider range than that proposed to his choice above. 

More minute arrangements are left to the future ; and they can, no doubt, be easily made. 

I must ask the favor of an early insertion of this note, in the Patriot ; and beg to say, 
through you, to the Editor of the Glasgow Chronicle, that I shall feel obliged by its repub- 
lication in his paper. 

R. J. BRECKINRIDGE, 

A Delegate from the General Assemby of the Presbyterian Church of the 

U. S. of America, to the Congregational Union of England and Wales. 

Durham, May 28, 1836. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE GLASGOW CHRONICLE. 

London, June 1, 1S36. 

SIR,— 

I forward you, without a moment's delay, a copy of this evenmg's Patriot, contamg a 
letter from the Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge, of Baltimore, United States. The following 
is my reply, which you will oblige me by immediately inserting, in company with the com- 
munication to which it refers. 

1 feel thankful that my overture has been accepted; and, notwithstanding the arrange- 
ments I had made to remain in London during the whole of the present month, and the 
announcement of my name in the public advertisements to lecture during the forthcoming 
week, I shall, D. V. be in Glasgow on Tuesday next ; and shall be ready to meet Mr. Breck- 
inridge in the Religious Institution House, South Frederick Street, at noon of that day, to 
settle the preliminaries of the discussion, which, I trust, will commence the following 
morning. 

It is my earnest hope, that every thing said and done, will be in accordance with gentle- 
manly feeling and christian courtesy. 

Yours respectfully, 

GEORGE THOMPSON. 



NOTE. 



The Speeches and Documents in this Pamphlet having been submitted to the cor- 
rection of the Speakers, the Report may be relied on as an accurate and full account 
of the important proceedings. 



DISC USSION. 



FIRST NIGHT— MONDAY, JUNE 1.3. 



Monday n'f?lit, ajrreeablv tn advertlsomfnt. «lie tlisctiH- 
sion betwixt Mr. GeoP^o Tliompson, ^nd the Rev. R. J. 

the hour 



Breckimidge, was opened. Bv half-p^'-^ '*'^' '"e, '"""' 
fixed on l.v the Cnniii.iltee. Dv. War.lh.w's Chapel r,m- 
tained 1200 individuals, the numhcv a?iepd upon by both 
part ies.(l) A great number rould not sai" admittance, ni 
con.sequence of tlie tickets allotted being bo>'?"f "P o" S'^'" 
urday. On the entrance of the two antago""*^*'' accom- 
panied by the Committee, the audience wiirni'y ciieered 
them. By appointmenl of the Committee, 

The Rf.v. Dr. WARDL.WVtook the chair, and said- 
Ladies and Ocntlonien — I have to thank my friends on either 
hand of me, for the honor they liave thus conferred upon ine ; 
and I trust that, in taking the chair, I have the pleasure 
of your concurrence. I have accepted the honor, « ithout 
expressing any apprehension; for the truth is, I have felt 
none. I have perfect confidence in both the parties(2) — an- 

(1) At first, like n man conscious oftlie inherent oiliousnoss of 
his cause, Mr. BreckinriiU'e proposed tliat tlic andienee slionlj 
consist of "a select niimher of crntlcnien, say from fifty to five 
hnntlreil, to l)0 aclmilted by ticket only — rrxiicctahle persons"! 
Wliat l>ravery and magnanimity! Wliy.tlie haughty JCenluckian 
seems lo have rned liis acceptance of .Mr. Tlinmpson's cliallence, 
iiistantcr. Only think offifty persons for an audi.'>nco — oreven five 
hundred — in a city like Glassow ! " llie uliole object," too. of Mr. 
B. bcin? "to ret before the British cliurrhes, certain views and 
suicrestions on the suhiert ofslavervito prevent the total aliena- 
tion of Rritioh and American Christians from each o'her " ! And, 
moreover, they must all he " respnctahle" persons, selected for the 
occajinn — the "roninion people " heinq too filthy to allow them to 
come into the same hnildin? witii this " crood soeiety " republican, 
and too iarnorant toimdersland the "sublime merits" of -.American 
slavery. Mr. Thompson would have clailly confronted hisanlaeo- 
nist in this country, before the people; but never wnnid ho have 
meanly bargained for a small and chosen audience, violently oppos- 
ed to him as he knew the populace to hs. No — hi.-! choice would 
have been, llu- larc-est hall in the Union, and as many spectators 
as conl I crowd into it, wilhont mnnev and wi'hoiit tickets. How 
did he behave when be encountered that subtle Jesuit and worst 
enemy of the colored race, XI. R. Curley, theHecrotary and Aient 
oftlie Ameiican Colonization Society.' Did he stipidnfe as to the 
quality or number of the audience.' Far from it. lie, in common 
with his friends, reeretted that a more siiaiions hall than the one 
that was occupied durins the discussion, could not lie obtained in 
the city of Boston, No abolitionist is afraid of the people: lint 
fikulking is a part of colonization tactics. It is true, the mmiber 
finally aifreed upon at Glasi,-ow was 1200, though still "scleei "; 
hut it is not illiberal to presume lint I>[r. Breckinridae cons-ented 
to this extension, simply because the niidienco were to be bound 
to silence thronicMout the discussion, and lo divest themselves of 
their usual habits of expressinif approbation or ilisappiobation of 
the sentiments advanced— all to spare the feelin?s of Mr. B. The 
fact, that he was willing to meet Mr. Thompson, eives no evidence 
of moral coura<e : for how coul.l he do otherwise, as the rei>resen- 
tative of the Presbyterian Church, after the challenge was triven .' 
It would not do for him to skulk in England, however plausibly 
he mie-ht evade a controversy in the United Stales: hence, his wil- 
hncrness was necessity, and his bravery desperation. 

(2) Howshamefuliy v. as that confidence aliused by Mr. Breck- 
inridge, throughout the whole discussion ! " I cannot," said Dr. 
Wardlaw.ata subsequent meeting, "but condemn the contumc- 



tagonisls must I call them 1 by whom the anticipated dis- 
cussions are to be conducted: and I have the same per- 
fect ccmlidence in you. Had I entertained the slightest 
appielieu.si(m of any such tempest of controversy a.s that 
winch, (Ml a lonupr occasion, agitated so mightily a dense- 
ly crowded assembly within these walls, I should never fm 
one moment hnvc thought of consenting to occupy this 
seat; I should have pleaded utter incompetency — for, im- 
pute It to what cause yon will— I am perfectly sensible, 
that nature never meant me for managing storms. But 
the occasion on which we meet now, ia widely different 
from the occasion on which we met then. We have not the 
.same kind, at Icast.of discordant and conflicting materials. 
Our own controveiy, thoiigli not, by any means, disposed 
of in all respects to our mind — has yet, I will say, been 
Itappily settled. The subject now is different; and, while 
the subject is dinoient, the combatants too, are likewise dif- 
ferent. One of them, indeed, is the same; and he re- 
(luires no introduction. He is no stranger. You know 
him. You know his person; you know his character; 
you knowing sentiments; yon know his eloquence; you 
know his zeal; you know liis devotedness to his cause. (3) 

lious and sarcastic bitterness of some of his personalities, and I 
conceive him to have failed in argument on every point that was 
worth conlen.lint' for." Of the manner and spirit in which .Mr. 
Thompson conducted himself, the Dr. remarked as follows :—" 1 
shrink not from sayin? of him thus publicly, that I consider him, 
in this as in former controversies, as having borne himself, in every 
rf*;>fc(, creditably to bis character and to his cause. .. In conse- 
(inence of this discussion, Georso Thompson, instead of having 
sunk, has risen in my estimation, both as to personal chararlor,and 
as lo official ability and trustworthiness; and never stood higher 
in my reeard,than be does at the present moment." [See Appen- 
dix.] Testimony like Ibis, from such a source. is decisive: all who 
candidly roail the debate will confirm its veracity. 

(3) Durin? Mr. Thompson's sojourn in this country, he was rep- 
resented lobe a bankrupt in character, a fiigilivo from justice, a 
foreign incendiary, an emissary of I he Bliti^-ll Government, &c.&c. 
In ibis wliobsale defamation, our lending religious and political 
jonrnal"! indnslrionsly participated; and by it stirred up a murder- 
ous spirit toward him in a II parts of the land, so that his life was in 
continual jeopardy. It wag not an impeachment of Jlr. T's char- 
acter merely, but also of the character oflhe great body of British 
philanthiOf>isls and christians, in whose service he hail been honor- 
ably emi.loycd looltecl the overthrow of Colonial Slavciy — of such 
men as Hiixlon, Macnulay, Cropper, Stcplien, Slarge, Wanllaw, 
James, I.ushincton, Gurney, and Price. Since his rclnrn, he hns 
been every where received with the Inchest deinonstralions of re- 
spect, Hfleetion and applause : yet, let the fiict be told in Enuland, 
as a fresh illustration of the mnlicnily and baseness of his pious 
and patriotic calinnniators in America — not a simple religious or 
political journal, uhicli defamed hiia while here, has had ihe hon- 
esty or matiinnimity to retract one of its cbarges against him. or 
inform the people of the manner in which he has been recciveil 
by the christians and philunlhropisls of En,ilaiid and .ScnilanJ ; and 
were it not lor Ihce.-.istence of anii-slavery newspapers among us, 
the cre;a body of Ihe people would still be cherishing the deln- 
eion, that Mr. Thompson is ns odious in England as he waS in Ibis 
country ! How t'-nder must he the consciencesofthe editors of the 
New \'ork Observer, Boston Recorder, Christian Mirror, New- 
Ilampshire Observer, Vermont Chronicle, N. Y. Journal of Com- 
merce, N. V. Commercial Advertiser, cl idKcnus omne! 



First Night — Monday — Di: Wardlinv. 



These you liave witnesseil ; tlie?e you liave approved. But l)ont upon me to say in his behalf. I will not dishonor 

the friend on my right hand — (for, with liis jiermission, liini, l)y so much as naming the name of a former antngo- 

80 I\vit;h to call him) — comes amongst us an entire stran- nist (6) of our friend on my left, in association with his. 
ger. You have never seen iiim before; and you have not I liave only now to slate officially, as your chairman, — 

even yet heard him open his lips : and the very circum- allh.iugh most of you may already be aware of them, — 

stance of his appearing under the aspect of an opponent the circumstances in which the proposed discussions orig- 

to one whom you have admired and accredited, places him inaled, and the terms on which they are to be conducted. 

at an obvious disadvanta"'e. I feel it right and imperative. You know that Mr. 'I'hompson, since his return from the 

therefore, that in a sentence or two, I shoidd introduce him t United States, has, in various places, delivered public 

vour notice. BIr. Breckinridge has come here as a friend- lectures on American slavery. Some of his statements 

iy delegate from a lar"e and influential body of Christians have been charged with extravagance; some of his pro 



in the United States, to a large and influential body o 
Christians amongst ourselves — from the General Assembly 
of the Presbyterian Church in America, to tlie Congrega- 
gaiional Union of England and Wales. Mr. B. stands 



ceedings have been cliaiged with imprudence. Mr. Thomp- 
son having, in a letter to the editor of the Patriot news- 
paper, expressed his ' readiness asd anxiety to meet any 
American clergyman, or other gentleman, in any part <jf 



high in personal character, in family respectability, m Great Britain, to discuss the general question ot Aineri- 

ministerial reputation, in public esteem.— And, what it is can slavery, or 'his charges against America and Amen- 

of essential consequence for this assembly to know, lie is can ministers; Mr. Breckinridge, to use also his own 

not a slaveholder, nor a friend of slaverv! (4) Tn the very terms, in a letter to the same journal, 'Alter mature and 

letter in which he accepts Mr. Thompson's challenge, he prayerful consideration, and lull consultation with a few 

has publicly avowed that he ' believes slavery to be con- <';.'ends, is nut able to see how he can avoid taking notice 

trary to the spirit of the gospel, and to the natural rigl'ts ot this direct and almost personal challenge. Under this 

of men.' And he has given practical evidence of the sin- impreEsion, he accordingly intimated his acceptance of it ; 

cerityof this declaration, in the fact of his having i)arte<l onering to meet INIr. Thompson in our own city :— and 

with a patrimonial property in slaves, at no inconsiderable Mr. I hompson having gladly and immediately acquiesced, 

pecuniary sacrifice.(5) This much I have thought it incum- 'cre they are, ready with their respective statements to lay 



pecuniary 



before us. 

The terms agreed upon, as those on which the discus- 
sion are to be conducted, are the following. [Here the 
chairman read the terms already specified in the prefixed 
advertisement.] 

I shall only further say, that I feel it a mighty relief to 

not to be considered as, in 

rel- 



(4) ' In the abstract.' In the coursn oftlie discussion, Mr. Breck- 
imid?e demon.st rated, a^ain and again, that he was in favor ofsla- 
very, in practice — i. e. that ho was the fuiioua o|)ponent of imme- 
diate enmncipalion, and the aihocate of the present c\'\f\(^uce of 

Blavery. Ur. VVardlaw, i)i this passaffo, merely gives the deceitful • i i " 

assuranceof .\Ij. B.asmade to himself, not to endorse its correct- '"y '"i"". ^"Wi the chairman 

ne33, (for.hfiintca clear-3ii<hled aholitionist himself, he must have ""y respect, constituted a judge of the relevancy or 

viewed hivi in the liirht of an apologist for the slave system,) hut evancy of aught that may be advanced by the speakers on 

to present him to the hesladvantaee to a Glaseow audience. Ac- their respective sides of the question : and that, in addi- 

cordins; to a statement of Ur. Ahraham L. Co.v, in tl;e Bmancipa- t'"" to the restdution that no vote shall be called for at the 

tor, it appears that Mr. Breekinri.ke, at an anniversary n.-etin? of close, it has also been deemed advi.sabl)! both by the par- 

the Colonization Society, in New York, in tlie si>rini; of 1834, onbe- ties themselves and by the committee, that, throughout the 

inif asked, ' Arc you a slaveholder." replied. ' T have \hal lionor.' discussion, there shall be an entire abstinence, on the part 

It i,< not kno\vn that he has sinre r.limiiishid ' that honnr.' of the audience, from all the customary expressions of ap- 

(.5) AVliy donot U. J. Breckinrid--e and his hrniher Jolm eive 1 > probation or disapprobation. (7) There are various and ob- 

the public, the particulars in det.iil respectin? the epiar;ci[iation of 

their slaves, that the public may l)e able eorrertly to estimate the ported to tli.e coast of Africa — an alternative which genuine chris- 
iiature and amount of that ' pecnniary-Bacrificc,' of which they lianity never could present or enforce. Besides, if tliese vaunting 
are always eenlistically hoastinj, a? if, for ceasing to act. the part emancipators urave liberty to their slaves liecauso they deemed it 
of robbers and oppressor.', they deserve the adminition of the sinful to keep them in bondace,, why do they dwell upon tlieir 'pe- 
world? In nearly all their colonization andprp-slavrry hflrangues, ciiniary sacrifices,' instead of confessing that they have been guilty 
lliey are sure to indulge in an inflated strain of sqlf-Klorifiralion, of a heinous crime .' and why do they object to having every slave- 
on account of their aliandonment of a .system of phuvbr and villa- holder in the land instantly follow their example ? 
ny; but, while they fluently ex|)atiate Uiion tiin ' ppciiniary sarri- (ti) The individual liere alluded 1o is Peter Bortlnvick, who was 
fice ' whirli they have made, (as may every ihief in restoring the sent into the field by the West India party in En;!land, to confront 
Booda which he has stolen,) tliey are careful not to specify in what Mr. Thompson ; and who has since been rewarded by a seat in Par- 
cases, to « hat extent, under wliat cirenniBtarres, or on what con- liament, for liis zealous support of .their intere.st.s. He was a skil- 
ditions, tlioy have manumilled Iheir slaves. 'AVill they do so iiow.= fu] iuilagonist, but was ultimately driven from the field, though he 
Modest men— to boast as if it were a merit in them no longer to had a face of bronze and a heart of stone, and was as devoid of 
Fteal the laborer with his wa?es ! Noble patriot.s— to eulogize shame, as recreant to truth. Corrupt and liardened as he was, ha 
themselves for ceasing to invade the inalienable ri;.'hts/if their lel- 
low-men! Generous pliilanthropisis — to talk ofibc 'pecuniary 
nacrifice,' on their part, in surrendering stolen property, in risolv- 
ing to live lionestly, in doing justly, loving mercy, and breaking the 
yoke of oppression ! Devout christians — to dual in puff.' and cnm- 
pliment=, because they have ceased to assume the prerogatives of 
the ,\lmiglity, to imhrute boiuKS created in liis image, to hold as 
marketable commodities. 



'Those for whoso snkes all nature stands, 

Ant] liars Iheir courses mo>-e ; 
In >vhosr behalf the nnsi'l-liauds 

Came flying from above ' — 

those for whom even the Son of God made himself of no reputa- 
tion, took upon himself the form of a servant, was mocked, scou'g- 
ed and crucified '. — Certainly, it is diflicuU to believe, even with 
the charity that hopeth all things, that christian principle had any 
thing to do with the manumission of their vassals ; for, we believe, 



excelled Robert J. Breckinridge in several particulars. In the first 
place, ho disdained to 

" Pteal the livery of tho court of heaven, 
To serve the devil in " — 

and did not attempt to imnoso upon the public by a clerical 
profession. In the second place, he had better manners, was less 
vulgar, less rampant with passion, and far less malevolent and per- 
sonal, than Mr. U. But, in hair-splitting and dust-throwing — in 
making the worse appear the better reason — in insensibility of soul 
to the suffoiings and wrongs of an enslaved people — in uttering 
falsehoods," gross as a mouncain, open, palpable " — in bold, delib- 
erate, monstrous mis-statements — he eriualled. but could notexcel, 
the champion of the slave-drivers from Maryland. On the whole' 
therefore, Mr. Goithwick is to be preferred to .Mr. Breckinridge, 
though they esnouse the same side of the question. 
(7) The habitual magnanimity of Mr. Thompson is such towards 



•hey were liberated only on condition that they should be trans- his opponents, that I. am induced to surmir.' that this arrangement 



Flnt Night — Mondaij — Mr. Brccldnndgc. 



vio«3 reasons (or this, whit-li ymir own jiiilgmciu will .=115- 
gcst, and wliifli 1 sii:ill iii>t waste your time l)y pperifying. 
1 trust you will attend to this rule, and render all intorfer- 
eiicc, on my part, unnoccssary ; as il will he my impera- 
tive duty to maintain it with a striet iniparlialily. From 
)-eports which have some how comu to his ear, our friend 
on my right Iras coine amongst us with lallier nnfavorahln 
imi)rcssions of ilic courtesies of a Glasgow auditory. (8) I 
trust yonr hcliavior durin^^ these discu.-vsions will seivc to 
disabuse his mind of these impressions, and to suhslilutc 
ju.=ler and hetler. Our duly is to listen to lioth speakers 
with patient an 1 can.liil attention ; impressed wilh the full 
conviction of their integrity, so that, should there he 

wii3 tirst sue^cslo;! liy liinisull", in onlcr lo span; the ffolincrs oT Ids 
fiiUiHonislb}' lliosc marks of (lisa})|)robatioii on llio purloftlic aii- 
ilioncc, which would have iiiovitahly accompanied Mr. l>'s insolent 
and contemptuous rhoilonioutades, had not nmto attention been 
agreed upon. The contract, too, would have been rendered yet 
more painful, Iiy the iipplausi^s which the just and elncjuent senti- 
ments ol" Mr. T. i.iusl have elicited at every stai;e of the discus- 
sion — not merely because they loved and honored him as a gifted 
and devoted advocate of British emancipation, but becansc ho 
stood su'jlimely upon the rock ofprinciple, and called to his aid the 
l)tfst sympathies of the l,uman breast, and made his appeals to tho 
umlorstandin? and the heart, and pleaded for those in bonds as 
bound with them. These were the 'various and ol)vions reasons ' 
for silence, to which Dr. VVardlaw alludes- It is not material, 
however, who first proposed thearrani<ement alluded to, — althiiusU 
it would argue somelhin'.; of conscious weakness or self-condem- 
nalion, if Mr. Breckinriilgc suggested it: il is sufficient U) know, 
that it was readily agreed to, and careiuUj observed to the end of 
the debate, by an audience of 1200 persons, excepting in one in- 
stance on the fourth eveEiiiig, when Mr. B. grossly insulted them 
bv the mndc^t insinuation, that they were evidently tired of listen- 
ing to .Mr. Thompson '. '. This was too flagrant an outrage upon 
truth and decency to be borne in silence : l.ence it justly excited 
their righteous indignation, and they repelled il by the most une- 
quivocal and decisive expressions of disapprobation. Enraged at 
being wounded by his own poisoned weaiion, Mr. B. next made a 
furious thrust at the entire audience — in other words, he added in- 
sult to insult, by uttering the grievous libel, that ' it was his duty, 
when be returned homo, to tell his countrymen that no charges 
were too gross or calumnious to he entertained against them — nor 
any length of timC: a weaiincss in hearing them^-but.thatvthe hear 
ing of defence and proof of innocence was an insupportable weari- 
ness '! ! What christian comity ! what sacred regard for truth I 
Rather, what insolent behaviour ! and how base an impeachment 
of the fairness a^id integrity of that enlightened asse'mblj; ! Had 
George Thompson been guilty of such conduct in this country, un- 
<ler similar circumstances, would a few hisses havo been the only 
retribution visited uiion him .' But the magnanimity of the citi- 
zens of G'asgoWjin this instance, was as nobly evinced, as it was 
Khamefully aiiused. Fori. It must have been extremely diflicult 
for them to divest themselves of theh customary forms of ejacula- 
tion on such an occasion. Vet, 2. They cheerfully imposed tho 
restriction upon themselves. And, 3. They did so out of courtesy 
and forbearance to a foreigner — to one who bitterly reviled their 
' beloved Thompson in America, and not only so, even in their pres- 
ence — to one who was known to sympathize with tho oppressor; 
and not with the oppressed — to one who despised and repudiated 
all that lliey had done in behalf of eight hundred thousand slaves 
in the British Colonies ! Contrast such generous conduct with the 
ferocious treatment which Mr. Thompson received at the hands of 
the people of this country — and then let every true American hang 
his head in view of it ! To the utter condemnation of Mr. Breck- 
inridge, instead of being duly affected hy such unprecedented 
kindness, he meanly took advantage of their Ibrbcarance, and 
'railed like a very drab,' both against his gifted antagonist and 
themselves ! 

(8) These ' unfavorable impressions ' were unquestionably de- 
rived from Mr. B's knowledge, that a pro slavery apologist is nev- 
er received witli clicers in lilasgow, as lie is in this ' land of liber- 



foimd, on eillu-r side, any inis-.staloincnl, or over-statr- 
inent, or iindcr-slatemeni, it is in every c;isc lo be imput- 
ed, not to inionlioii, but to iiii.~taUc and niisinformation. 
It is the business ol llie spcaker.s lo lay before iij ' the 
truth, the whole truth, and nnlhing but the triilli.' It is 
ours to receive it with all impartiality, from the one or from 
ihc oilier. In one word — 1 solicit favor for neither; 1 de- 
mand justice fur both. 

Mr. lirerkiniidge, according lo ngreement, will open 
the discussions. 

Mr. TlRECKlNRinCE .said,— It was not easy to con- 
ceive of circumstances that were more enibarras.siiig than 
those in which he was placed this evening. They had 
already laKen for granted all that had been said and doneon 
one side of the (jiiestion; their minds had been already 
made tip to oppose those conclusions to which it was his 
purpose to bring lhem.(9) Their aflecrnnis and feelings had 
long been engaged to his opponent in thi."* cause; (10) and all 
that he cnulil say would neces.sarily have little eflcct in 
changing wdial he would not hesitate to call those unhappy 
opinions, which were long ago formed against him. An- 
other cause of his embarrassment was, that he would be 
rejndgcd of all he might sa) here. (11) Wlint he said would 
be approved by one party in America, but would be dis- 
approved ofby another. (12) In the United States they were 
dilfcrenlly situated from what the people were in this coun- 
try. Here the people seemed now united on this subject, 
but in America iJiey were split into a great number of dif- 
ferent parties, wdiose opinions and feelings were arraigned 



(9) This confession, alone, proves that all Mr. B's proHssiong 
of hostility to slavery are insincere or delusive. Here he boldly 
avows that it is his purpose, if possible, to alter the 'conclusions' 
10 w liich the people of Glasgow had come on the subject of slave- 
ry — which were, that it is essentially inhuman and wicked, a high- 
handed sin against Ilim who created man in his awful image, mer- 
iting the execration of mankind, and too dreadful to be toleiated 
under any circumstances, or for any length of liino. 

(10) Why (lid not Jlr. 1!. express his surpiise that suclia ' felon,' 
' renagado,' and ' cut-throat,' as G. T. should have Ihns secured the 
' affections and feelings ' of the most distinguished christians and 
philanthropists of Scotland ? Let the slanderers of G. T. remem- 
her this aeknovrJodgment, extorted from as illiberal an opponent as 
ever stood up to.deceive and insult a christian assembly. 

(11) >lr. B. might well feel embarrassed at the thought of being 
rojudged by ll.e friends of bleeding humanity in thus country. A 
Chisgow audience might be deceived by him, owing to a want of 
correct informatiiin ; but ho. instinctively realized that here, in- 
stant exposure would bo uncscupablc. Now, why should a man 
who moans to tell the troth, to vindicate the tarnished character of 
bis country, and, aI)ove all, to rescue American Christianity from 
grave and dreadful charges, prate about the 'embarrassment' he 
I'eels in attempting to <lischarge so honorable anil delightful a du- 
ty.' But this state of mind shows that Blr. B. was painfully con- 
scious of the unsoundness of his cause. 

' (12) Does whining, like this, become ' a delegate from the Gen- 
eral Assciiihly of tho Presbyterian Church of the IJ. S. of America 
to the Congiegaiional Union of England and Wales'.' What should 
a brave and good man care for the approv;il or disapproval of this 
or that party, provided he stands up manfully in defence of Right 
— in opposition to Wrong .' Mr. B. concedes that he shall be 'ap 
proved by one party,' meaning the slaveholders and all their apolo- 
gists — and 'disapproveil of by another,' meaning the abolitionistn 
and the people of color. For, in his subsequent remarks, ho do- 
iilared, ' that the American nation was divided into two parlie-i, 
namely, the pro-slavery and the anti-slavery parlies.' Yet he says 
lie is opposed to slavery, and ' believes it to be contrary lo the spir- 
it of tho gospel, and the natural rights of men '! He says, more- 
over, that ' whatever ho inighi say would be disapproved by mani/ 
in tho United States ' — and al'tcrwards speaks in contemptuont 
lernis of the abolitionists as constituting 'a £rna/<' ami odious par- 
ly ' ! 



8 



I^rst Night — Monday — Mr. BreclHnridge. 



against each oilier in as great a measure as it was possi- 
ble to conceive. Whatever, iherelbre, lie miglu gay in 
this country, would be disapproved of by many in the 
tJniled Stales, while nothing was more certain than that 
what was said by his opponent would the more commend 
him to his friends on the other side of the Atlantic ; (13) and 
nothing he could say would jirobably lower him in the 
good opinion of his friends here. (14) Hence arssetlie diffi- 
culty of the situation in which he (Mr. B.) found himself 
placed, and his unusual claim upon their patience in the 
course of the discussion. Still, he should be unworthy of 
his country, he should be forgetful of the power of truth, 
lie would have little trust in God, if he was nut ready to 
espouse the cause which he believed to be right; Eind more 
especially if he was not ready before a Scottish and Chris- 
tian audience, to defend the principles he had adopted and 
avowed. He had no desire to attempt a mitigation of their 
hatred to slavery ; and if at a future time he should meet 
in America with any one now present, he would prove to 
them by the friendship of those who loved and respected 
him, and the opposition of those who did not, that he hat- 
ed slavery as much as any one of those present could do. (1.5) 
It was said by one of the ancients, 'I am a man: I con- 
sider nothing that relates to man foreign to me.' It was a 
true and noble sentiment. (16) The fate of the most hopeless 
might be theirs, if power could make it so ; and their con- 
dition might have been that of the poorest wretch on earth, 
if God had not smiled upon them and their ancestors as 
he had done. He did not wish them not to interfere with 
slavery in America. They might interfere, but the ques- 
tion was, how were they to ilo so 1 He wished in the 
course of the discussion to bring before them fads to show 
that if they did at all interfere with slavery in America, 
it must be done as between individuals, not as a national 
question. That whatever they did, they must do as Chris- 
tians, not as communities. (17) 'I'liat they must not, for a mo- 
ment, look upon it as a question of rival power and glory, as 
aquestion betweei Great Britain and America .;(1S) if they 
did so in the slightest degree, their chance of success was 
gone forever. In the prosecution of the question, they should 
not allow themselves to be identified in their cflorts with 
any party in America, in ])olitics, in religion, or meta- 
physics; more especially with a small and odious parly, as 

(13) True — the friends of Mr. Thompson, in this country, in 
view of tliis discussion, feci an enlar;emeiit of their admiration of 
him. But cannot Mr. U. aflord to be at least trilling ly generous i" 
Why does he begrudge Mr. T. the favorable opinions of ' a small 
and odious party ' here, while he himself is sure of being approved 
by a large and popular party .' 

(14) Here is another refutation of tho infamous charges brought 
against G. T. by the corrupt presses of this country. What will 
James Watson Webb, Joseph Tracy, William L. Stone, Joseph 
T. Buckingham, and Messrs. Hale & Halleck, say nowi' Jlow in- 
fatuated must Mr. Breckinridge have been, alter conceding so 
much to tho character of liis opponent, to deal in tlie \ilest de- 
traction of Mr. T. throughout the discussion. 

(15) Tliis would excite mirtliful emotions, were it not that ef- 
frontery and mendacity require a different state ofmind. 'lie, 
hated slavery as much as any one of those present could do,' and 
yet in his exordium he told them that it was his purpose to alter 
their ' conclusions ' respecting it, if such a change were i>ossib!e. 

(16) Uttered, too, by a negro. 

(17) Well, it was ' as christians,' and not 'as communities,' 
strictly speaking, that tliey encouraged the mission of Mr. Thomp- 
son to this country ; but did this fact conciliate tho public favor 
here.' Besides, may not 'communities,' as well as individuals, 
lawfully and profitably engage in a benevolent and moral enter- 
prise? How is it with us in prosecuting the beneficent cause of 
Temperance, ov of B'oreign Missions? 

(18) Ridiculous .' as if they had ever looked upon it in this light. 
Such eiravc admonitions were surely as trying to the patience, as 
ineulting to the good sense, of the audience. 



t'ney had done to a deplorable extent. (19) They should not 
identify themselves with a party so small as not to be able 
to obtain their object, and so erroneous as not to deserve 
success. (20) Whatever they did should be done meekly and 
in the spirit of the gospel; they should not press the prin- 
ciples of the gospel with the spirit of a demon, but with 
all the sweetness and gentleness of the gospel of peace. (21) 

(19) Strange that this chivalrous combatant, backed by so re- 
*7)ccta6/e and formidable a party in America, sliould have felt so 
much ' embarrassment ' at the thought of being ' lejudged ' by this 
' small and odious party ' — by ' a very small handful.' Tho terror 
which Mr. B. manifested, whenever he alluded tothe abolitionists, 
gave a mournful aspect to his contempt. As soon as they shall 
cease to be odious, (for they are small no longer,) no doubt Mr. 15. 
will be glad to be identified with them: but he should remember, 
as a professed minister of the gospel of Christ, that numbers are 
not a test of rectitude ; that to be hated for righteousness' sake is " 
not anew thing under the sun; and that moral reformers are al- 
ways ranked, pro iempore at least, among the offscouring of tho 
earth, and defamed in proportion tothe prevalence, strength ariit 
popularity of the particular sin assailed. Why should the aboli- 
tionists be a small party in the United States ? Is not their entire 
creed contained in the Declaration of American Independence, 
signed by John Hancock and his associates, and ratified by the 
people in solemn assembly on every Fourth of July ? — to wit — 
' We hold these truths to be self-evident : that ALL MEN ARE 
CREATED EtlUAL ; that they are endowed BY THEIR CREA- 
TOR with certain IN ALIEN .\BLE RIGHTS ; that among these 
are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness.' For what are 
they odious ? Not that they are not truly respectable and estima- 
ble in their private character, [of whom such men as Arthur and 
Lewis Tappan, Gerrit Smith, William Jay, Beriah Green, William 
Goodell, Samuel H. Cox, Joshua Leavilt,&c. Sec. arc specimens] 
— not that they are not peaceable and valuable citizens, kind 
nei^hlx)rs. devout men and women, the friends of every beneficent 
anil holy enterprise ; — but odious, l>ecause they sympathize with 
the victims of an iron thraldom ; because Ihey rebuke the guilty 
oppressor ; because they regard the negro as a man and a brother; 
because they plead for tho immediate abolition of a system of rol>- 
bcry, violence, and every conceivable v\'rong and outrage ; because 
they seek to burn the cord of caste, and to e.xterminate a prejudice 
which is as brutal as it is unreasonable; and because they refuse 
to countenance a scheme for the expatriation of one-sixth portion 
of the American population, under the hypocritical pretence of 
seeking tlie evangelization of the natives of Africa. Mr. Breck- 
inridge knows tfiat this is the head and front of tlieii offending. 

[■20] To say nothing of tlie folly of that philosophy, which argues 
the impracticability of a successful reform, because it is in its in- 
fancy, and its friends are comparatively few — and not to dwell 
npon the promise, which has been literally fulfilled in every moral 
contest, in every age of the world, times without number,and nev- 
er more signally than in the present anti-slavery struggle in this 
country, namely, tliat'one shall chase a thousand, and two put 
ten thousand to flight ' — let this accusation of Mr. B. that the ab- 
olitionists, as a party, are ' so erroneous as not to deserve success,' 
be compaied with his declaration, in his letter to the Editor of tlie 
London Patriot, that he ' believes slavery to be contrary to the 
spirit of the gospel, and to the natural lights of men '—a declara- 
tion which embodies every heresy of the abolitionists, except it be 
that they call, on the ground of a common humanity and of relis- 
ious duty, for the immediate abolition of that which is obviously 
so anti-christian, and such an invasion of human rights — whereas 
Mr. B. contends, tiiat it ought to be very gradually removed, at 
long intervals, by an imperceptible process .' Ho is a professed 
minister of Christ, and yet refuses to declare to sinners of the first 
class, that they are bound to repent of their sine, and forsake them, 
immediately. 

[21] Here is a homily.' — and from such a man — to such an au- 
dience .' ' They should not press the principles of the gospel with 
the spirit of a demon ' — thus charitably intimating, that, hitherto, 
they had been guilty of tliis unchristian conduct/ 'Whatever they 
did, should be done meekly.' What extraordinary meekness was 
manifested by this instructor of Raljih Wurdlaw and his demon- 
like aseociatOB, in thp course of this discussion.' 



^int Night — Monday — Mr. Breckinriilge, 



9 



These were tlie principles which he intcndoil to endeavor 
to impress upon their luimis l>y details which he woidd 
adduce ill the course ol" the disciissiuii. It uiis iiotliiiig 
more than jvisl to tlic aiidienee that they should know, 
that they shouM understand it distinctly, that as far as 
regarded his opponent, lie neither was nor could l>c any 
ihing more to him or his eountiynien than as an individual 
who had identilied hiniseH" wiili certain parties and prin- 
ciples in America. (22) Neither he nor the Americans could 
liave any olyect in underrating or o\T?rialing him, America 
could have no desire to raise; him up or to pnil him down. 
It is not, it cannot lie any thing to America what any in- 
dividual is, or may he, in the eyes ot' his own countrymen. 
The King of Kngland is known to America oidy as ihe 
King of (ireat Britain ; if he ceased to he the King of 
that Kingdom, he was to then no more than a common 
individual. Let it not he supposed thateilhcr he or Amer- 
ica had any wish, even the most remote, to break down or 
injure the well-earned or ill-earned reputation of his op- 

<22) lnJe«<i; And so it \v;\3 all notliin? to .Vmcricans whetlicr 
Georse Tliompson was llic favorite luid llie representative of llie 
ijrcat anil good, or a ' fugitive felon,' the ropreseiitutive only of the 
"Glasgow goodies,' and cjindidato for Uotany Bay! Stran^:e, 
passing- strange, tliat Americans slioiild coinpuss sea and laii<l, to 
gather up testimony, and deposiiions, and oaths, and certificates 
from U. States' consuls, &c. &.C., in England, and then load down 
the mails in every direction in this country, and caH into leQuisi- 
lion every possihle energy and influence of the press and priest- 
hood, and all to make out, and sanction, and give currency to the 
slander, that George Thompson was ' bankrupt in character' at 
liome.' Marvellous, most marvellous! What had his character 
and standing in England to do with his standing here ! What if 
he was 'bankrupt in character' there, how could that make him 
so here? Why, Mr. Breckinridge being judge, ' it is not, it cannot 
be any thing to America, what any individual is, or may be, in the 
eyesof his own countrymen.' 

The foregoing appropriate commentary u from the Emancipa- 
tor. I will add, that Mr. Breckinridge exhibits his characteristic 
effrontery in saying, that 'neither lie nor the Americans could 
have any object in underrating or overrating Mr- Thompson.' 
Why, then, were such incessant efforts made in this country to 
blast the character of this eloquent advocate ? Had the ' gentle- 
men of property and standing' in Boston, no 'object' in riotously 
asjembling together in October, 1635, that they might seize Mr. 
T.,and tar and feather his person.' Was there no 'object ' in the 
rewards offered for his abduction .' Con\ incing, conquering, elec- 
trifying the people wheneverand wherever he was allowed peace- 
ably to address them — indefatigable in his labors, uncompromising 
in his principles, irresistible in his appeals — can credulity.itself 
believe, dare folly itself to assert, that the great pro-slavery party 
in this country could have had no 'object' in calumniating his 
rfjaracter.' Were rotten eggs and brickbats thrown at his head 
ivit))otit an 'object'? Was all manner of evil spoken against 
hun falsely without an 'object' ? Had the profligate Jews no ' ob- 
ject ' in viev.-, when they branded Christ as a wine-bibber and glut- 
tonous, and as having a devil.' When the apostles were stigma- 
tized as 'seditious and pestilent fellows,' who were seeking ' to 
turn the world upside down,' was the slander without an 'ob- 
ject'? When the tumult arose at Epliesus, because Paul had 
' persuaded and turned away much people,' was the cry of the 
c-aftsracn, ' Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! ' without an ' ob- 
ject ' .' — But, says Mr. B. ' it cannot be any thing to .\merica what 
an individual is, or may be, in the eyes of his own countrymen.' 
Then Mr. B's associates were very silly, to say the least, in 
assailing the character and poison of Mr. T. : for, by their frantic 
behaviour, they declared Lliat it was every thim to America what 
the 'fu^-itive from justice' was! But we are now gravely told 
that it was of no importance to this country, whether the individ- 
ual invited to this country by the New England Anti-Slavery So- 
ciety, to act as its agent, was a ' cut-throat 'or nn advocate of non- 
resistance — affiend or foe to the United States — an ' incendiary ' 
fli philanthropist — a ' scoundrel ' or a servant of Jesus Christ .' 



ponent.(2:})They looked upon him only with reference to hi.i 
principles, (21) and had no personal motive on earth in rel- 
creiice to that gentleman. Let them not, thcrtTorc, think 
that in any reinurks he might make, or charges he niif^lil 
bring forward, he had any intention of implicating his (i| - 
poniMit as l)eing solely rcspoiLsibie for these results. I 1 
callc<l in (|Uesti()n, not the principles of a particular in 
vidual (udy, l)ut those also of a party in America, to win u; 
he woulii have to nnswer when he ruturncd to that coun- 
try. Having said thus much, he would now proceed to 
tlio (picslion before tlicin,but would previously make a few 
pi-eliminary remarks which he thought necessary to enable 
them to come to a proper understanding of the subject. 
He did not think it necessary lo trace the progress of the 
great cause to the present moment. For forty years they 
had suirerod defeat after defeat — yet these defeats only 
strcnglhcncd their cause, even in this country, till they hail 
arrived at a given point. lie would not wish to hurt the 
feelings of a single individual now present, but he was 
sure he spoke the li?elings of all in America, when he 
said that the great day of their power to do good as a 
nation wa.s to be dated from the passing of the Reform 
Bill. (25) From that period, they started in a now career of 
action, both at home and abroad. The sending out of 
agents was one of the great lines of operation attempted 
upon the Americans. This the Americans complained of as 
liaving been done in an impioidenl and impossible way, (26) 



(23) Another palpable falsehood. Why the incessant and inerci-' 
less attacks upon Mr. T. throughout the discussion— and, espec- 
ially, why the suicidal reference to the ' tremendous documentV' 
alias, the malicious charge of the coiivicl<;d slanderer Kaufmirn 
— if not with a design and desire to injure his ' well-earned repu-' 
tation'? 

(34) Observe— it is the pi-mcipZe-j of the atiolrtionists vviiicTittro 
called in question— namely, that slaveholding is, under all cireum- 
stances, sinful, and ougiit to be abiindoned immediately— tbiit the ' 
colored man ought to be recognized and treated as a man and a' 
brother — and that no man ought to be expatriated from our sliorcn 
on account either of hia complexion, or the prejudices which exist ' 
against him. Yet Mr. B. tells us, in another place, that he believcj 
slavery ' to be contrary to the spirit of the gospel, and the natural 
rights of man,' and ' that he hated slavery as much as any one of 
his auditors could do ' !— Observe again, that he is troubled at the 
thought, that he will have to answer to the small and odious imrty 
when he rcturni to this country. It' will not <lown' at hia bid- 
ding. 

(25) And by whom was the Reform Bill warmly supported, and 
triumphantly carried, but by the friends of negro emancipation ? 
And who, but these very individuals, are takiiix the lead in every 
political and moral reform now agitating the British kingdom ? 

(26) There i* something extremely ludicrous in this piece of in- 
formation. Kind and courteous Americans ! relentlessly holding 
in. slavery one in every six of your whole number, — shuidering, 
proscribing, and mobbing all who urge you to break every >-okB, 
and let the oppressed go free— and yet complaining that the people 
of England did not pursue measures for (he abolition of American 
slavery, that would not have met with defeat ! Now, to say that 
all the revilings heaped upon our trans-atkintic brethren — all the 
riots and lynchings in tliis country— oil the opposition and hatred, 
in Church and in State, to the abolitionists — have proceeded from 
tho belief, that the advocates of immediate emancipation are only 
strengthening and perpetuating the slave system, is to utter thfl i 
language of Bedlam. Tho plain and undeniable fact, that the, 
southern slnveholderi en masse, and all the colonization con- 
spirators against the liberty and equality of our oilored popula- 
tion, ami nil the advocates and administrators of lynch law.andi 
all the ecclesiastical scribes, Pharisees, and rahbics, are in union ; 
to crush the abolitionists, is demonstration itself, that we are shak- 
ing slavery to its foundation — that our blows are given with anni- 
hilating effect — that our principles arc immutable and rii-htcoas — i 
and that our measures are conceived and prosecuted in the right i 
manner. If it were not so— if the abolitionists were really forging 
instead of bfCBkin; the fettersof the slaves— would not the slave- 



10 



^irst Night — Monday — 3I>'. Brtckinridgc. 



and sure to meet VTith defeat. They have sent out agents 
to America, wlio have returned defeated. They admit 
they were not successful, though they say they retreated 
only, that they were not defeated. They have failed — 
they admit they have failed in their object. (27) One of these 
agents, on his return, made certain statements as to the 
condition of the slaves in America ; and as to the state 
of the churches in the United States, which implicated 
not only the great body of christian ministers of the 
country, but the government, and the people of America, 
excep'. asmall handful of individuals. (28) If, as was admit- 
ted, the number of pastors in America was twelve to fifteen 
thousand, and only one thousand had embraced these views, 
were they any thing but a small parly '!(29) While yet the 
whole nation was denounced as wicked — and the wrath of 
heaven invoked against the country. It was only a very 
small handful that came in for a share of the praise of his 
opponent ; and the sympathies of the people here were 
invoked on the assumption of principles which it was his 
object to prove false and unfounded. What could be the 
cause of such an anomaly '! that those principles which 
are said to be loved and admired here, are repudiated 
there to the extremity of pertinacious obstinacy ■? This 
cause it would be his duty to point out; first, he would 

holciors and their nbcttors rather encoura;,'o (lian denounce their 
proceedings.' would they resort to every species ol'outragc against 
their best friends .' No, indeed. What is the language of Gov. 
M'Duflie.' — 'No Iiuman institution, in my opinion, is more mani- 
festly consistent witli the will of God than domestic slavery. In- 
stead of beins a political evil, it is the corner-stone of our republi- 
can edifice. It supersedes the necessity of an order of nobility, 
and all the other appendages of a hereditary system of Kovern- 
ment.' Now, how does he reijard the abolitionists.'' as only niak- 
inK slave property more secure hv their efforts i Hear him — 'It 
is my deliberate opinion, that the laws of every community should 
punish this species of interference by DEA I'll, without bunefit of 
clerny, regarding the authors of it as enemies of the Imnian race.' 
And the language of the Virginia Whig is — 'The people of the 
North must go to II.\NG1NG these fanatical wretches.' What 
says the South Carolina Telescope? — 'The very moment.iny indi- 
vidual attempts to lecture us upon the evils and immorality of 
slavery, and the necessity of putting means in operation to secu/e 
us from them, in the same moment /iw tongue shall be cut. out rivd 
cast upon the dunghill.' So much for the assertion, that the aboli- 
tionists are retarding the progress ot emancipation. 

(27) This is untrue. 'To say nothing of the accuracy which 
speaks in the plural number of a single individual, and \\liich can 
be easily excused to one who, in encountering him, probablj' felt 
that tliat Individual was himself a host, — when or where has the 
alleged admission been made .' Never. Nowhere.' 

(28) ' A small handful.' At the annual meeting of the Coloniza- 
tion Society in Washington, in 1834, this same Mr. Breckinridge 
declared the abolitionists to be "A GREAT AND GROWING 
PARTY.' During the last year, they organized more than three 
hundred anti-slavery societies — yet they are now only 'asmall 
)iandl"ijl.' It is a pity that, lor the sake of a sneer, Mr. B. should 
resort to falsehood. 

(29) In an arithmetical view, this calculation may seem conclu- 
sive— in a moral view, it is foolishness. Allo\ving that we are ' a 
small party,' is it the nuniber of partisans that determines the 
righteousness of a cause, in the estimation of Mr. B. .' What were 
the friends of Temperance but a small party a few years ago: 
What are they now? In point of numbers and respcclabiVdy, 
the Scribes and Pharisees cherished towards the Apostles the 
same contemptuous spirit. But principles alone, not men, givo 
strength, and achievb the victory. 

'Thrice is he armed who has his quarrel just; 
And he but naked, though locked up in steel, 
Whoso conscience willi injustice is corrupted.' — 
Besides, as Mr. B. boasts so ff cquently of the hugeness of his own 
party, we may retort upon him in his own language: — 'One per- 
vading evil may pollute it all. A dead fly can cause the ointment 
t)f the apotliecary to stink.' 



say, what perhaps no one would believe, that the questron 
of American slavery, is in its name not only unjust, but 
absurd. There ■fVas, properly speaking, no such thing as 
American slavery .(30) It was absurd to talk of American 
slavery, except in so iar as it applied to the sentiments 
of what was the minority, although he would say a large 
minority, which tolerated slavery. It was not an Ameri- 
can question. In America there were twenty -four separate 
republics; of these, twelve had no slaves, (31) and 
twelve of them tolerated slaveiy. Two new states had 
recently been added to the Ujiion, and God speed the day 
when others would be added, till the whole continent 
from the Atlantic to the Tacilic was included in the 
Union, carrying with the Union, Liberty and Indepen- 
dence, Of the two states which were lately added, one was 
a slave state, (32) and the other free. Of the twelve free 

(30) Monstrous paradox. Throwing aside all other evidence aa 
to the guilt of this whole nation, the answer to this question is 
conclusive : — Is there one foot of earth, in any part of the United 
Stales, upon which a fugitive slave can find protection ? NO 
— his master can seize him with as much impunity in the city 
of Boston, us in Chaileston or New Orleans, and all our courts 
sanction his claim. No such thing as American slavery ! Then 
there is no such person as Robert J. Breckinridge. Why, this 
same impudent declaimer, on a subsequent evening, acknowledg- 
ed that Congress had the constitutional power to abolish slavery 
and the slave trade in the District of Columbia — but he argues in 
favor of its winking at and encouraging these abominations, on the 
ground ' that the exercise of the power would inevitably pro- 
duce a dissolution of the Union'.' 

(31) This is another misrepresentation. By the census of 1830, 
no less than 3,486 slaves were reported to be in the twelve States 
alluded to by Mr. B. as liaving no slaves. It is true, that in the 
new States of Maine, Ohio and Indiana, slavery has not been suf- 
fered to pollute the soil, e.xcejit in the case of the seizure of run- 
away .slaves. Illinois, a new and free State, by the last census, 
had 747 slaves. These belonged to the adjacent slave State, Mis- 
souri, but were hired and employed as indented apprentices, and 
sometimes as slaves, in defiance of law. It is a common practice 
in Illinois to hire slaves from Missouri, and thus slavery virtually 
exists in that State to a considerable extent. New Jersey, anoth- 
er free State, had in 1830, 2,254 slaves ; and Pennsylvania 403 ; 
the 'lingering remains of the old slave system in those States. 
Moreover, in the territories of Arkansas and Florida, and in the 
District of Columbia, (all under the exclusive jurisdiction of the 
national Congress,) there were in 183(1, 26,195 hupian beings held 
in bouduge, and the domestic slave trade was iri vigorous prose- 
cution. Facts like these show" hqvy much reliance is to be placed 
upon the veracity of the ' IJelegatn from the General Assembly.' 

(32) What afact unblushingly to state to an audience, which", 
one moment before, had been solemnly assured that there was no 
such thing as American slavery, and that it vvas not an American 
question ! Here are denial and confession of guilt almost in the 
same breath. Shall such tergiversation be ascribed to moral tur- 
pitude, or tp mental dcrangemcHt? The people of the United 
States, by their representatives in Congress, have opened another 
tract of their immense territory to the domestic slave trade, and 
added another slaveliolding State to the Union; in the constitu- 
tion of which State, (Arkansas,) it is provided, that ' the General 
Assembly shall havo.?io vomer to pass laws for the emancipation 
of sialics, without the- consent of their owners •• they shall have no 
power to prevent emigrants to this State from bringing with them 
such persons as are deemed slaves by tho laws of any of the Unit- 
ed States.' This horrible enactment,— which not only tolerates 
hut virtually perpetuates slavery and the slave tralBc in Arkansas, 
— was approved by Congress, by a vote in the Senate, of only in 
the negative, and in the House of Uci)resentativcs,ofaye3 143 to 50 
noes. The only remonsltsinccs that wcfc made in Jhe form of 
petitions, emanated from the 'odious' abolitionists, and tho 
equally ' odious ' membejs of the Society of Friends. Thesi;reat 
mass of the people made no opi)0,-itioa whatever. Hence, this 
fact alone drcnclios their garnvcnts in the ' blood of the souls ofiho 
poor innocents.' Sixteen years ago,, they a.hiiilted Missouvi, 



F'irst Night — Monday — Mr. Brtckinridge. 



11 



independent sovereij^n stntes of America, to which he had 
alltuled, one, IMassachiisctts, had, for a h)nger time than 
Wis opponoiK had lived, not tol<>raled slavery • Titorc were 
DO slaves in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
Vermont, New llanipsliire, Maine, New York, New Jer- 
sey, Pennsyhania, Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois, and in foin- 
of them there never had heen a slave. Eiijht of them, of 
their own in-.i- will and choice, nlxdished slavery, withoiit 
money and without price. (3;>) By the inlhience of the spirit 
of Ciod, and the inlhience of divine truth, they had totally 
abolished slavery. (34) Of the twelve states, at least four, 

another shivelioliling State, into tlie rniim, feaiin!? tliowhipof 
the .southern slave-drivers more than they did the frown of tho 
Ahiiiifhtj'. To pvopitiato tlio Sontli, and niaUo slave labor prolita- 
blc, thej- purcliased Louisiana and Florida, upon the .soil of wliich 
State and Territory, shivery is seen in its most direful aspect.?. In 
•view of these thing's, ousht not It. J. Ureekinridge lo be regarded 
as a wilful deceiver, — a' wulf in sheep's clothing ' ? 

OT) Well, wlien robbers restore that which ihey have stolen, 
are they to be culogizeil as phihinlhroiii'ts, and paratrons of hon- 
esty.' Does Mr. 13. mean to contend, that these States were not 
bound to abolish slavery ' without money and without price ' ? If 
not, then none of the slave States may justly demand compensa- 
tion, in imitating their example. If he do, will he try to reconcile 
this doctrine with the followini?, which is extracted from liis 
speech before the Colonization irociety in Washington, in 
1834.' 'If I am asked, whether God made one man to own a 
•title to another, I must reply, NAY. To me it is self-evident, that 
the beings whom God made in his own image, Ae must have made 
free.'' 

(34) But who proclaimed the 'truth,' whose influence, mighty 
Ihroujli God, overthrew the abomination in those States.' Who 
but the Weslcys, and Fiskes, and Ilopkinsos, and Baldwins, and 
Stileses, and Edwardses, and Othellos, and Amyntos, and MilHins, 
and Rushes, and Pinckneys, and Jeftersons of that day .' — the men 
that declared of slavery — 

'I strike at the root of this complicated villany — I absolutely 
deny all slaveholding to be consistent with the least degree of na- 
tural justice — seeing men-buyers are exactly on a level with men- 
stealers.' — Wesle\j,\l^l. 

' No longer shall the United States of JJmcrica be famed for lih- 
erty. OPPRESSION pervades their bowels; and while they exhib- 
it a. fair exterior to other jiarts of the world, they are no more than 
painted sepulrhres, containing wit;liin them rottenness and corrup- 
tion.' — Othclla, Baltimore JlJrertiscr, 17i^8. 

'The slavery practised rn .Vmerica is not only ahominabl;^ un- 
just, inconsistent, and ri.liculoii.«. Gut it is a drsgrace to humao na- 
tin-o. There never yet was an instance, in which all the lights of 
liunian nature were more flagrantly violated than in the case of 
AmpricaV\ slavery. Perfect liberty and eimality with- the whites, 
is this day the inalienable right. of every negro in America.' — 
Jlniijnto, JVVw York, 179li. 

'Let who will startle or laugh, I stoadfiislly maintain, that we 
must bring them tnegroos] to an equal standing, in point of priri, 
leifes, uith tlie lohitcs .' They must enjoy all the rights belongirrg 
to human nature.' — Fislu, Tutor in Dartmouth CuUe.gc, \Tdo. 

' Amcrical) slavery is unjust in its nature — impolitic ia its princi- 
ples — and in itsco?(.seoKen<;c.<. rninous to the Industry and enterprise 
of the citizens of these States.'^— jl/emoriai of the Connecticut 
State Society, for the Promotion of Freedomi ^■cprayinii for Con- 
gress to abolish the slave trade, and si-^ncd btj EZRA STI-LES (Pre- 
si.lent of Yale College) President, and SI.MEON BALDWIN, Sec- 
retary, 17fll. 

'They [tho slaves] have yet as much a right to their liberty as 
ever they had, and to demand it of him who hold.s them i.i bondage ; 
and he denies them their right, which is of inoro worth to them 
than every thing else tliey can have in the wo'ld, every HOUR he 
refuses or neglects to set then atlHerty.' — Hopkins, 177C. 

'Every man who cannot show, that his negro hath, by his volun- 
tary conduct, forfeited hi-s liberty, U Q\i\\irc>\im,mediately to manu- 
milhim. And to hold [such an one] in a state of slavery, i« to bo 
every day guilty of robbing him of his lilierty, or o{ man-stealing 
— and filty years from this lime. (1791) it will bo as shameful for a 



Ohio with a million of inhabitants, Indiana, Illinois and 
Maine, never had a slave. Since 17.S.5 till this hour, there 
never had been one slave in any of thes-c stales. 'I'Ire.sc' 
t\v( Ive either never had slaves, or had iibolii^hed slaverv 
without any renirrnuriition. These states contain 7,000,000 
out of th(! 11,000,000 of the white popirlatiuii of the 
Union, iind nearly two thirds of the whole territoriiil ex- 
tent of the republic as now peopled. (3o) And when we rc- 
meirrber that they have stood as they now do for the last 
twenty years, as it was now more than twenty years since 
slavery w.is abolished, how could they be charged with 
the responsibility of the existence of slavery in other stales, 
or be charged with fostering slavery whicli they were the 
first people U|)on earth to aboli.'^h, and the first to unite 
with other nations in putting down the slave trade as pira- 
cy 1 (36) This he was aware would be denied ; but, though 

111071 to hold a ne^ro slave, as to be guilty of common robbery or 
theft ^—Yonnner F.d,rnrds, Pastor of a church in JVew Haven, and 
aftcrtrnrds President of Union College. 

'I tremble for my coiuitry, when I reflect that God is just, and 
that his justice cannot sleep forever. The Almighty has rro attri- 
bute that can take sides with us in such a struggle.' — Jefferson, 
1782. 

' It will not do thus to talk like philosophers, and .act like unre- 
lenting tyrants ; to be perpetually sermorrizing it, with liberty for 
our text, and actual oppression for our commentary.' — JVm. Pinck- 
neyin the Maryland Ifousc of Dcle?ntc.-f, 1781). 

'Domestic slavery is repugnant to the vrrnciples of Christianity. ' 
It pcostrates every benevolent and just principle of action in the 
human heart. It is rebellion against a common Father. It is a 
practical denial of the extent and eilicacy of a common Saviour. 
It is an usurpation of the prerogative of the great Sovereign of the^ 
Universe, who has claimed an exclusive property in the souls of 
men.' — Benjamin Rush, 1794. 

Who but the men that promulgated those principles were tho 
men that, under God, abolished slavery in the States referred to .' ; 
And what but the abolition of tho foreign slave trade, for the pur-' 
pose of protecting the domestic, and tho promulgation of the 
principles of colonization in their place, and to the temiwrary 
subversionof those— what but these two causes combined has 
arrested the Southward march of freedom, and held it in statu 
quo for twenty years '. 

Thus far the Emancipator upon this passage. It is proper to add, 
that there iino reason to believe that slavery was abolished in New ' 
Eirgland mainly, as Mr. B. declares, ' by the influence of the spirrt 
of God,anHtheinnuenco of divine truth.' [Note— Mr. B. is lor 
the gradual removal of that, to which divine truth and the spirrt of 
God are hostile, by his own confession, and thus pleads for the 
continuance of sin : like Felix, he wishes slaveholders to ' wait 
until a more convenient season 'before they repent!) No — for tho l 
space of one hurrdred aird fifty years, she endeavored to fasten 
slavery- upon her territory, and only rclimjuished it because the soil 
and the ctimatr. were unconquerably averse to it. 'So tar from rc- 
proiiching the South with the evil of her coforcd population,' sard 
GERRIT SMITH, in a speech delivered at Washington a few 
years ago,' I admit that tho North owes her redemiition.iio"" « 
belter morality, but to colder skies and a less fertile soil.' IndeiMJ, 
from the strong i>To-slavery spirit which now pervades the breasts 
of her inhabitants, there is reason to apprehend that if, by a mirac- 
ulous change, cotton, sugar, rice, &c. &c. cotrld be grown as 
profitably among us as at the extreme south, slavery would be rerri- 
statod, with its drivers and overseers, its whips, collars and thumb- 
screws, without delay, and by an overwhel ruing majority of tho 
people. Wo have abandoired it rather on account of a physical 
inaptitu'Je, than of any moral repugnance. Still, 'the influence of 
divine truth ' unquestionably hastened its abolition. 

(35) And yet seven millrons succirmb to four millions, and per- 
pelnato slavery and tho slave trade in the District of Columbia, 
and In the Territories, lest they should dissolve the Union .' And 
yet 'properly speaking, there is no sucli tiling as American 
slavery ' ! 

(36) Here Mr. B. is wrong again, both in fact and in argument. 
America has not abolished the ' slave trade, and !made it piracy. 



12 



First Night — Monday — Mr. 



Breckinridge. 



Wiiberfuicc liad lal)ouied in tlic cause for Iwcniy years, 
file Anieiicaii constiuilioii had fixed a limited time for the 
abolition of llie slave trade, (37) and the manient the tweiriy 

To this moment slio tolerates and piotects, nay, derives a revenuo 
from tliat trade. VViliiess the 30,000 or 50,000 thai go from Virgiit' 
ia, Maryland, &c., to the extreme south every year. True, she 
lias proscril)ed the/ur«i>)i trade, on parchment, oxtA that is all. 
Fortolliis hour she stands alool", and will not come into such 
arraiisremcnt with olbor powers, as are indispenaahle to an efTect- 
oal execation of the law. A British cruizer gives chase to a 
Bjaver. U|i go American colors. America denies the riijht of 
search in the case, and oft' goes the slaver untouched and un- 
harmed. Thus does America nullify her own law, and so fir as 
she can, the laws of all other civilized powers, and unfurl her flag 
for the escape and protection, rather than the arre?t and puu- 
wJiment of the slaver — iEmancipator .\ 

The PT, Y. Jcn;:m'.>t t>rComr.TOre<', rn a vecerrt article very trrtfy 
tvsscrt.-i, that ' We nuithci do any thing ourselves to put down the 
accursed traffic, nor afford any facilities to enable others to put it 
down. Nay, rather, we stand between the slave and his deliverer. 
We are a drawback— a doiid weigiit on the cause of bleeding 
humanity.' And a late number of the EJinbur^'h lleview, speak- 
ing of the application of the British govornment to this, for its co- 
Q:),>ration, says, 'Tho final answer, however, is, that UHder no 
ttondUion, in iwfurm, and witli no restrictions, tcill the United States 
enter into any coM'ention, or treat}/, or make combined efforts of avy 
i-ert or kind, with other nations, for the suppression of tJic trade.' 
With what face, then, can she claim praise lor having merely 
mailc a law, which she almost never executes, and to the execu- 
tion of wUicl'i ''>■ others, she permits her fiag to be usetJ as a hin- 
drance ^ 

(37) This is not strictly true. The following is the article in 
the Constituition, alluded to by Mr. B. : — 

'ARTICLE I. Section ix. The miaration or importation of 
such persons a» any of tho States now existing, shall think proper 
to admit, SHALI* KOT BE PUOIIIBITED by the (.•on,'res3 
prior to the year one thousand ei)iht hundred and ei.'ht ; but a tax or 
duty may be imposed on such in>|X>rtation, not exceeding ten dol- 
lars for each person.' 

Tlius it will be seen that llic ConstiCeFliion, instead of ' fixing a 
limited time for tho abolition of the slarc trade,' as Mr. Breckin- 
ridge atfirms, expressly authorised its bloody ami piratical prose- 
cution for the term of twenty years, and bound tiro people of the 
United States not to suppress it during that protracted period ! 
Nor did it require the suppression of the trade in 1808, but simply 
(leclared that it should not be prohibited till that year. If Con- 
gress, in 1808, had been disposed to let it continue without inter- 
rupljoni that body could have done so without conflicting with the 
Constitution; but the slave-breeding States were quite willing at 
that time to shut out foreign oompetjtioni for they wished to sup- 
ply the hcmiemarket with their ■ live stock.' By this monopoly 
they have been enabled to realize an immense profit. To show to 
what extent the domestic slave trade is now prosecuted, and how 
valuable it is, 1 quote the following paragraph from a late number 
of the Peteisburg (Virginia) Times : 

' We have heard intelligent men estimate the number of slaves 
exported from Virginia tritftm the last twelve ynontlts, at 120,000 ; 
each slave averaging at least $t)00 : making an aggregate of $'^2.- 
000,000! Of the number of slaves exported, not more than one- 
ihird have been sold, (tne others having been carried by tlnir 
owners, who have removed,) which would leave in the Stale tho 
8um of $34,000,000 arising from the sale of slaves ' ! ! 

Remeniber that this exportation.of slaves has been from a single 
Ptate within the last year. In further proof of the disgusting 
char.-icter and extensive prosecution of this nefarious traffic in 
' slaves and souls of men,' read the fi)llowing extract from a 
speech delivered in the Virginia House of Dolegatts, January 
2l5t, 1832, by Thomas J. Randolph : 

' Tlie gentleman has spgkon of tho increase of tho fonialo slaves 
being a part of the profit ; it is admitted ; but no groat evjl can be 
ttvcitod, no good attained, without some inconvenience. It may 
be «iuo.stioncd,hov,' fur is il desirable to foster and encourage this 



years had elapsed, the congress did abolish it; and this 
was in the same month, and some days before the abolition 
bill had passed through Parliament. Thus, America was 
the first nation on earth wliich had abolished the slave 
trade, ar>d made k piracy. \i we judge by tiie number of 
repitbly;:3 Which tolerate no slavery — if we judge by- the 
number of American p.iltzens who abhor slavery, it \\\\\ 
be found not to be an American question, but oite appli- 
cable only to a small portion of the nation. If he wished 
to prove that the British were idolaters, he could ])oint to 
millions of idolators in India, under the British govern-' 
inent, i'W every one in America who approved of slavery. 
If he wished to prove the British to be Catholics and wor- 
shippers of the Virgin Mary, he could point to the west 
of Ireland, where one thousand worshippers of the Virgin 
Mary would be found for every one in America who did 
rK)t wish slavery abolished. If he were to return to Amer- 
ica and get up public meetings, and address them abont 
British idolatry, because the Indians were idolators, or on 
British ("atholicism, because many of tire Irish worshipped 
tho Virgin flhiry, would not the world at once spe the ab- 
surdity and maliciousi>ess »f the charge ; and if he heap- 
ed upon Britain eTery JibelloiTs epithet he could invent (38) 
— if he got the wise, the good, and the fair, to applaud him, 
would not the world see at once the grossness of the ab- 
surdity"? .4nd where, then, lay the dilTerence?(39) The Uni- 
ted States Government have no power to aboli.sh slavery 
in South Carcdina — Britain can abolish idolatry through- 
out its dominions. It was absurd to say that it was an 
American question. America, as a nation, w;is not re- 

brarrcli of profit. It is a practice, and an increasing practice in 
parts of Virginia, £« rfr;/- slaves f>ir market. How can an honora)- 
blo man, a patriot, and a lover of his cotnitry<bear to ffce tihisaii> 
cient dominion, rendered illustrious by the noble dovoticiiv sntJ 
l)atriotism of her sons in the cause of liberty, co7ii-crfe(/ iMfo one 
grand mtnaserie where men are to be reaied for market like oxen 
for the shambles? Is it better, is it not xcorse than the foreign 
slave trade, that trade which enlisted the labor of the good and 
the wise of every creed and every clime to abolish it? The tra- 
der receives the slave, a stranger in language, aspect and manneis, 
from the merchant »-ho has brought him from the interior. 'I'he 
tics of father, mother.husband, and child have all been rent iit 
twain ; before he receives him, his soul has become callous. 

' But hero", sir, individuals, whom the master has known fronv 
infancy, whcri he has seen sporting in the innocent gambols of 
childhood, who have been accustomed to look to him for protec- 
tion, he tears from the rriolher's arms, and sells into a strange coun- 
try among strange people, sul)ject to cruel task-masters. In my 
opinion, sir, it is much wur.ie.' 

So much for the boastful assertionof Sir. Breckinridge, that 
America was the first to put down the slave trade-as piracy ! 

(38) Of course, Uio insinuation is, that Mr. Thompson has 
heaped upon America every libellous epithet ho could invent, 
and has got the jcise, the good,a.U(l the fair, to applaud him for 
his baseness I What an insuh to the intelligence and piety of 
Dr. VVardlaw, Dr. Heugb, Robert Grahame,onil their numerous 
associates, that they should thus be accused of praising and ad- 
miring a wilful and notorious dofamer j and how is insinccriiy 
added to insult by Mr. B. in his encomium of llwse very individ- 
uals towards the close of the discussion ! — But ho has ' not any 
wish, even the most remote, to break down or injun; the wtll- 
earned or ill-earned reputation of his opponent ' — O no ! 

(.39) Just hero. Religious worship is a matter between a 
man's conscience and his God, with which no government has 
a right to interfere. ' All that government has to do, is to siv 
ciiro them thn rijlits of conscience, and then let tliom alone to 
choose their own religion. True, if Great Biitain took from 
)ier Indian subjecis tho ri^ht and tho opportunity to bccomo 
Christians, an<l so compelled thorn to be idolaters or nothing, as 
America takes from her slaves Ih; right to bo free, compelling 



First Night- 



-Mon day — Mr. 7 'A o m])SO 1I . 



];3 



s[)oiisiblc, either in tlio sight of God or intin, lor llio ex- 
istence of Slavery within certain portions of the I'nion. 
As a nation, it had doncexery tiling witliin its power. (40) 
Tlie iiaif hour having now exjjircd, INlr. B. sat down; and 

Mr. THO:\lPSO\ rose. He said he did not stand on the 
platform this evcniiii; to explain to tlieni liis views in rc(- 
eronce to slavery. He would occupy no portion of their 
time Ijy an exposition of any of the principles or vlcw^s en- 
tertained by hiuiself on the suhjeet of slavery as it has ex- 
isted in ouroivn dependencies, or as it exists in America 
at the present moment, or in other portions of the globe. 
He stood there to justify that policy which, in a distant 
land, he had dcGmed it right to pursue ; he stood there to 
ju.^tify the policy which had been adopted and pursued, 
Hud was still pursued by certain individuals in the United 
States, whelher many or few, whether a handful or a 
multitude, who svere known by the name of the abolition- 
ists of the United States of America. He stood there to 
justify himself and them in the act of fearlessly, constant- 
ly, unceasingly, and universally, to every class and color, 
on the face of the habitable globe, enum^ating the great 
principles of ecjual justice and etjual rights — of enuncia- 
ting this gre.-it truth, that slaveholiling is a crime in the 
sight of (lod, and should be immediately and totally abol- 
ished. That God had in no instance given to man a dis- 
cretionary power to hold property in his felluw-man ; thai 
instant emancipation was the right of the slave; that in- 
stant inanumission was the duty of the master. That no 
governmeril had a right to keep a single soul in slavery ; 
that no nation had authority to permit slavery, let that na- 
tion exist wiiere it may; if professing to be a Christian 
nation; so much the more atrocieus was their wickedness. 
The nation which permitted the keeping in slavery of 
God's cre^itures, which allowed the traffic in human be- 
ings for 400 pieces of silver, even in the capital itself, was 
not entitled to be called a christian nation, and if profess- 
ing to be a christian nation, so much the more j)re-emi- 
nenily wicked and infamous was the nation. By that act, 
that infamous, wicked nation violated every christian feel- 
ing, and was worthy of being exposed to the scorn and 
derision of every nation under heaven, christian or pagan. 
This was a most momentous cjuestion, and he spoke strong-. 
ly upon it, but he spoke advisedly. He did not speak an- 
grily, but he did and must speak warndy on the siibjcct of 
Slavery. He could not talk of millions of men and women, 
each of whom was endowed with a soul whivli was 
precious in the sight of God — each of whom was endow-' 
ed with that principle which out-valued \\orlds — lie could 
not speak of such, registered with the brutes, with calm 
unconcern, or classed with chattels, and be calm — if he 
could do so, he should be ready with th.ese nails to open 
his breast, and tear therefrom a heart which woulil be 
unworthy of a man. He could and would speak calmly 
on other topics, but this was a subject which required en- 
ergy, unceasing energy, till the evil was removed from 
the face of the earth, till all the kingdoms of the world 
had become tlie kingdoms of our God, and of his Ciirist. 
He was thankful for the present opportunity which had 

them to be sLives or nothing, ami pleaJing the entire pliys- 
ical force of tlie government for their extermination, if tl.ey 
attempt to be any thing el-te, then inJceil would Great HritMin 
be responsible, and the world might justly cry out to h-r to un- 
clench her gra.sp open lior victims.' 

(49) Such mendacity requires no expo-jure : it is palpabhi to 
fvory eye. Jlr. B. crosses his ov/n track continually. As a na- 
tion, he says, America has done every thin:; will. in its power to 
flbolis.'i slavery ; and yet he telis us in another place, ' it is ab- 
surd to talk of American slavery' — lliore is not now, thitro 
never has been, such a thing as .Vincrican slavery— it is not an 
American (lucstion. 



been atlorded him, of entering into this iII.sct:ssion ; l:e wna 
thankful that his oppniieiif, for so it seemed he must be 
called, was an .\iMcricaii, that he was a Chi i.-<li.iii minister, 
that he was an opponent uf .'-lavery, tlial he brought to the 
c|iiestioii befire them, talent, learning, pati ioti.'-in, and 
christian feeling. Such an oppoiu'iit he respected, and 
wished the audience to r<!spect. He would ask them to 
cheri.sli his persnii, to nspect his opinions, to «cigh hi.s 
arguments, to test his facts, and if tiiey were just and 
righteous, to ad(jpt his principles. If he (Mr. T.) knew 
the strongest ex|)ression he had ever used regarding Amer- 
ica, he would use it to-night; if he knew in what recess 
of his heart his worst wish towards America was deposit- 
ed, he would drag it forth to the light, that his opponent 
might grapple with it in their presence. He would not 
soften down any of his language ; he would not sugar over 
his words, he would not abate one iota of wiiat he liad 
ever said in reference to the wickedness of America on 
former occasions. Let his o|)ponent weigh every syllable 
he (31 r. T.) had uttered, every statRment he had ever 
inade, every charge he iiad e\or trought against his conn- 
try or against his cloth, and if he fouiul that he had exag- 
gerated facts or stated wdiat was not true, he would be 
glad to be shown it. He was there bcifore theia and his 
opponent to search after the truth, truth which would 
outlive Mr. Breckinridge — triilli wiii(li would outlive 
(ieorge Thompson — truth whicii was far more vainable- 
than the proudest victory — truth which was invaluable to 
both— and let the truth stand out during the discussion 
which might fdlow ; and when they had found out the 
truth, if they saw any thing whicli had to be taken back — 
any thing to be given up — any thing for which to be sorry, 
he would try to outstrip his oppDuent in his readiness to 
retract what was wrcmg, to yield what was nntcMiablc, 
and to express his sorrow before God and the audience fm- 
what he had undeservedly said of America. WhU regard 
to the feelings he entertained towards the Ameri.aiis, he 
need only refer to the last letter he had published to the 
American people, from whicli he would read a passage to 
show the feelings he entertained towards that country, as 
well as to those of her citizens who might reach these- 
shores from America. Mr. Thompson then read the fol- 
lowing passages : — 

I love America, because her sons, though my per.":ecu- 
tors, are immortal — because ' they know not what they 
do,' or if enlightened and wilful, are so much the more to.- 
be pitied and cared for. I love America, because of the- 
many afTectionate friends I have found upon her shores, by 
whom I have been cherished, refreshed and strengthened ; 
and ujion whose regard I place an incalculable value. I 
love America, lor tliere dwells the fettered slave — fettered, 
and darkened, and degraded now, but soon to spi ipi into 
light, and liberty, and rank on earth, as he is ranked in 
heaven, ' but a little lower than the angels.' I hne Amer- 
ica, because of the many mighty and magnificent enter- 
prizes in which she hns embarked for the .salvation of the 
world. 1 Idve her rising spires, her peaceful villages, and 
her niiilliplied means of moral, literary, and religious 
imiiroveincnt. 1 love her hardy so-s, the tenants of her 
valleys and her mounlains green. I love her native chil- 
dren of the forest, still roaming, untutored and untamed,. 
in the unsubdued wilderness of the ' far west.' I love 
your country, because it is the theatre of the sublimest 
contest now waging with darkne.«s, and despotism, and 
misery, on the face of the globe; and becau.<e your coun- 
try is ordained to be the scene of a triumph, as holy in 
its character and as glorious in its results, as any ever 
achie\ed through the .instrumentality of men. 

But though my soul yearns over America, and I desire 
nr.'tliing inorc eagerly than to see her stand forth amou" 
the nations of the world, unsullied in reputation, and om- 
nipotent i.i enctrgy, yet shall I, if spared, deem it my duly 
to publisl'. aloud her wide and fearful de|;artuics from rcc- 



14 



First Night— Monday — Mr. Thompson. 



litii.lc aiisl morcy. I sl-nlUinceashiglv proclaim the wrongs 
t)l' her enslaved children; and, while she continues to 
' traffic in tiie sonls of nie;),' ijrand licr as recreant to the 
great pi'incipies of her rcvolntionary struggle, and hypo- 
<a"itlcal in all her professions of attachment to tlie cause of 
liumnn rights. 

I thank God, I cherish no feelings of ijitternoss or re- 
\rnge, towards any individual in America, my most in* 
veterate enemy not excepted. Should the sea on which I 
um aljout to embark receive me ere 1 gain my native shore 
— slioukl this be tlie last letter I ever address to the pco- 
l)le of Ameiica, Heaven bears me witness, I with truth 
and sincerity affirm, that, as I look to be freely forgiven, 
.so lieely do I forgive my persecutors and slanderers, and 
jjray — ' Lord, lay not tiiis sin to their charge.' 

In another part of the same letter, he had thus express- 
ed himself : — 

Should a kind providence place me again upon the soil 
of my birth, and when tlicre, should any American (and I 
hope many will) visit that soil to plead the cause of virtue 
and philantiiropy, and strive in love to |)rovoke us to good 
works, let him know that there will be one man who will 
uphold his right to liberty of speech, one man who will 
publicly and privately assert and maintain the divinity of 
iiis commission to attack sin and alleviate sufi'ering, in 
every form, in every latitude, and under whatever sanc- 
tion and authorities it may be cloaked and guarded. Aiid 
coming on such an errand, I think I may pledge mysell in 
l)ehalf of my country, that he shall not be driven with a 
wife and little ones, from the door of a hotel in less than 
436 hours after he first breathes our air — that he shall not 
be denounced as an incendiary, a fanatic, an emissary, an 
enemy, and a traitor — lh.it he shall not be assailed with 
oathsand missiles, while proclaiming from the pulpit in 
the house of God, on the evening of a christian Sabijath, 
the doclvines of 'judgment, justice and mercy,' — that he 
shall not be threatened, wherever he goes, with ' tar and 
feathers' — that he shall not be repudiated and abused in 
newspapers denominated religious, and by men calling 
themselves christian ministers — that he shall not have a 
price set upon his liead, and his house surrounded with 
ruffians, hired to effect his abduction — that his wife and 
children shall not be forced to flee from the hearth of a 
friend, lest they should be ' smoked out ' by men in civic 
;authority, and their paid myrmidons — that tiie mother and 
.iter little ones shall not find at midnight the house sur- 
•rounded by an infuriated multitude, calling with hoi'rible 
.jBxecrations for the husband and the father — that his lady 
.shall not be doomed, while in a strange land, to see her 
iiabes clin"'ing to her with affright, exclaiming ' the mob 
shan't get papa,' ' pa|)a is good, is iie not '! the naughty 
mob shan't get him, shall they 1 ' — that he sliall not, final- 
ly, be forced to quit the most enlightened city of our na- 
tion, to escape the assassin's knife, and returii to tell his 
country, that in Britain the friend of virtue, humanity, 
and freedom, was put beyond the protection of the laws, 
and the pale of civilized sympathy, and given over by pro- 
/essor and profane, to the tender mercies of a blood-thirsty 
i-abble. 

These extracts were from tiic last letter that he had 
written to the people of America, and which liad been 
widely published there ; and he was glad of an opportunity 
of now laying them before a Glasgow audience, and of 
iiavin" them incorporated in the proceedings of the eve- 
flin'', HI order to siiow that he tiicn forgave Aiaerica, that 
lie now forgave America. He would stand there to defend 
the right of Mr. I'reckinridge to a fair hearing from his 
(Mr. Thompson's) comilrymen ; and stand forward as his 
nrotector, to save him fVom the missile that might be aim- 
ed at him, and to receive into his own bosom the dagger 
.which might be aimed at his heart. His opponent might 
^36 anxious to know what report ho {Mr. T.) made on his 



return to Britaiil, of his proceedings in America. He 
would therefore read an extract from the minutes of the 
LoNDO.v Society for Universal Emancipation. 

George Thompson was then Introduced to the Commit- 
tee, and communicated at length the result of his Blission 
in the United States, and the jiresent cheering aspect of 
the Anti-Slavery cause in that country. The following is 
a brief outline of his statement : — 

He desired to be devoutly thankful to Divine Providence 
for the signal [U'eservation and help vouchsafed to hiin in 
all his labors, perils and persecutions. He considered it 
a higii honor to have been permitted to proclaim in the 
ears of a distant people the great principles held by the 
Society. 

He sailed from this country on the 17th August, 1834, 
landed at New York on the 20th September, and com- 
menced his public labors on the 1st of October. His pub- 
lic Lecttnes were continued down to ihe 20th October, 
1835, dining which period he delivered i)etween 2 and 300 
public Lectures, besides innumerable .shorter addresses be- 
fore Committees, Conventions, Associations, &c. &c. 
His audiences had invariably been overflowing, and com- 
posed from time to time of members of State Legislatures, 
the Heads of Colleges, Professors, Clergymen of all de- 
nominations, members of the legal professions, and the 
students of nearly all the Theological and Academical In- 
stitutions in New" England. The result of his labors had 
been the multiplication of Anti-Slavery Associations to an 
unprecedented extent. Up to the month of May, 1S35, ha 
met with no serious or formidable opjjosition. At that 
time the National Society reported the existence of 250 
auxiliaries, and its determination to appropriate during 
the ensuing year the sum of 30,000 dollars in the printing 
of papers and pamphlets to be gratuitously circulated 
amongst the entire wiiite population of the country. The 
Southern States, previously almost silent and inoperative, 
soon after commenced a system of terrorism, intercepting 
the |)ublic conveyances, rif'ing the Mail Bags, scourging, 
mutilating or murdering all suspected of holding Anti- 
Slavery views, and calling with one consent upon the Free 
States to pass laws, abridging the freedom of speech and 
of the press, upon the subject of Slavery. The North 
promptly responded to the call of the South, and in every 
direction throughout the Free States, the Abolitionists be- 
came the victims of persecution, proscription and outrage. 
The friends of Negro freedom everywhere endured with 
a patience and spirit of christian charity, almost unexam- 
pled, the multiplied wrongs and injuries accumulated upon 
them. They ceased not to labor- for the holy cause they 
had espoused, but perseveringly pursued tlicir course in 
the use of all the means .sanctioned by Justice, Religion, 
and the Constitution .of^ their country. The result had 
been the rapid extension pf their principles, and a vast 
accession of moral strength. G. T. gave an appalling ac- 
count of the condition of the Southern Churches. The 
Presbyterians, Baptists, and Episcopal Methodist Church- 
es were the main pillars of the system of Slavery. Were 
they to withdraw their countenance, and cease to partici- 
pate in its administration and profit, it would not exist for 
one year. Bishops, presiding Elders, Travelling Preach- 
ers, Local Preachers, Trustees, Stewards, Class Leaders, 
private Members, and other attendants in the Churches 
of the Episcopal Methodists, with the preachers and su- 
bordinate members of the otlier denominations, are, with 
few exceptions, slaveholders — many of the preachers, not 
merely possessing domestic slaves, but being planters 'on 
a pretty extensive scale,' and dividing their time between 
the duties of the Pastoral Office and the driving of a gang 
of Negroes upon a cotton, tobacco, or rice plantation. 

In the great pro-slavery meetings at Charleston and 
Richmond, the clergy of all denominations attended in a 
body, and at the bidding of vigilance Committees suspend- 
ed their Schools for the instruction of the colored i)opii- 



First JSight — iSlonday — Mr. Jircckinriclgc. 



1; 



Ijilioii) icceiviiig as their lewnnl a vote; of tlianks fioin 
tneir lay slavelii)Kliiig brelliien ' lor tlicir piiukiii ami pa- 
triotic conduct.' 

G. T. gave a iiinst encouraging account of the |nc's(;nt 
state of the Anti-Slavery cause, as nearly as it could l)0 
ascertained hy letters recently received. lie slated tliut 
there were now, exclusive of the Journals pid)lished liy 
llio Anti-Slavery Society, 100 newspapers boldly advocat- 
ing the principles of .Vlj(dilion.(l) iJelween 4 and 500 aux- 
iliary associatioNS, coiiipri>injf 1.3 or 1700 Ministeis of the 
Ciospel of various denominations. Ci. T. staled also a 
iiumlierof particulars, shewing the rapid progress of cor- 
rect opinions amongst ihe t\)ngrcgatioiialists, i'reshyle- 
rians, Methodists and liaplisls, j)roducing a Documen^ 
just received from the last named body, signed by 185 
Clergymen, being a reply to a letter addressed by the Bap- 
tist ministers in and near London to the Baptist Chinches 
of America, and fully reciprocating all their sentiments on 
the subject of immediate and entire emancipation. The 
cause was proceeding with accelerated rapidity. Ten or 
twelve Agents of the National Society were incessantly 
laboring with many others employed by the State Socie- 
ties, of which there were seven, viz. Kentucky, (a slave 
State,) Ohio, New York, Uhode Island, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, and Vermont, (icrrit Smith, Es(|. a 
competent authority, had staled ihat every week he wit- 
nessed aa accession to the ranks of the Abolitionists of not 
less than 500, in the state of New York alone, and he did 
not know that in all the Societies there was one intemper- 
ate or profane person. G. T. in describing the character 
of the persons composing the Anti-Slavery Societies n( 
America stated, that they were universally men and women 
of religious principles, and, in most instances, of unques- 
tioned piety. He had never known any benevolent enter- 
prise carried forward more in dependance upon Divine 
Direction and Divine Aid, than the Abolition cause ir) the 
United States. In all their meetings, public or social, 
Ihey committed themsehcs to God in prayer, and he had 
found that those who had been most vehemently denounced 
as ' Fanatics and Incendiaries ' were men sound in judg- 
ment, calm in temper, deliberate in council, and prudent, 
though resolute, in action. The great principle on which 
all their Societies were founded was the essential sinful- 
ness of slaveholding, and the consequent necessity of its 
immediate and entire abolition. The great mean by 
which they had sought to accomplish their object, was the, 
fearless publication of the truth in love, addressed to the 



(1) One of the strongest indications of the all-conquer- 
ing progress of the anli-slavery cause, is the wonderful 
change which has been wrought in the tone of the Ameri- 
can press within the last six years, in relation to 'his sub- 
ject. When the Liberator- was commenced in January, 
1831, it was difficult to lind, among the one thousand news- 
papers then printed in this country, an editor who mani- 
fes^ed any interest in favor of the freedom of the slaves. 
A paragraph, denunciatory of the sin of slaveholding, was 
as rare as an Albino in Asia or Africa. Now whole libra- 
ries can be formed of anli-slavery publications. Ten 
thousand pens are wielded on the side of iinmodiale eman- 
cipation, and mdlions of tracts are scattered annually in 
various parts of the land. As to the newspapers, although 
it may not strictly be said, that, aside from those exclu- 
sively devoted to our cause, as many as one hundred 
' boldly advocate the principles of aboliiion,' yet the 
slatement is not far from the real fact, which is, that the 
Kymjialliies and feelings of at least that number of papers 
are enlisted in our favor. 



understanding.-! and hearts of iheir fillow-citi.'.cns. Kxpe- 
diency was a doctrine they abjured. Free from a linu;- 
serving or timid spirit, they boldly relierl upon the right- 
eousness of their cause, the polenry of Irulh, and the bh ss- 
ing of God. They were entitled to re(:ei\e from the Abii- 
lilionifits of (<reat Britain the warmest coumiendalion, the 
fullest confidence, and most cordial co-operation. 

1[(! was happy in being able to state, that wherever the 
principles of iannediate Abolition had been fully ado[)ted, 
prejudice again.st color had been thrown aside, and that 
the members of the Anti-Slavery Societies throughout the 
country were endeavoring by every proper means to ac- 
complish the moral, intellectual, and spiritual elevation of 
the colored jjopuliition. 

lie hope{l lie would yet have ample opportunities of re- 
plying to the positions assumed by his opponent. He 
thought he would be able to show that slavery in America 
was American slavery; that the Congress of America — 
that the Constitution of America make it an institution of 
the country, and therefore a national sin of America. In 
reference to any question as to the constitution and lawn- 
of the United States of America, he was glad he had to 
do with a gentleman who knew these well, who held a high 
character ibr his Constitutional and krgal atlainments; 
and he hoped he would be able to show that Slu\ery in 
America was American Slavery — that the pc(jple in the 
north did not hate slavery — that they did not oppo.^e sla- 
very — that they were the greatest .■supporters of slavery in 
the United States — that slavery in America was a national 
question. But he would keep his proofs till he had time 
to say something along with them. Our interference was 
not a political interference with America, it was only a 
nim'al interference, to put an end to slavery — and he hop- 
ed the j)co]de of this country would continue to denounce 
slavery in America ; and at the .=anie time he was {|uile 
willing that his o|)ponent should denounce the idolatry of 
our eastern possession?. 

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE said, he would take up the line 
of argument in which he had been proceeding; but before 
doing ro, he wished to make one observation. How did it 
happen — admitting all that had been said by his opponent 
to be true and fair, how did it happen, that the same argu- 
ments and the same principles were so difierently received 
indiftierent countrii.-s ] How did it happen that the indi- 
vidual who ad\ocated the same cause, with the same tem- 
per, and almost in the same words, in Glasgow and in 
l?oston, should in the one place be supported by general 
ap|)lause, and in the other be ill-treated and despised, and 
even made to flee for his life lil) This was a question which- 



(1) This intcrrogafion is alike ridiculous and impudent.- 
' How did it hap|)eii,' &c.? How does it happen that the' 
advocate of liberty in Warsaw, is deemed worthy ofdcatlf 
in St. Pelcrsburgh ? In Glasgow, the people abhor negro 
slavery, and, consequently, they cannot but admire its- 
most formidable opponent. In Boston, the people do not 
abhor negro slavery ; on ihe contrary, ' five thousand gen- 
tlemen of property and standing ' in lliis city have riot- 
ously asscmliled together and dispersed an anli-slavery 
mccling of females, and dragged the writer of these notes 
ignominiously through the streets for his opposition to 
slavery. Even Faneuil Hall, ' the Old Cradle of Liberty,' 
when requesieW for the use of the New-England Anti- 
Slavery Convcnlion by one hundred and twenty respecta- 
ble citizens, was unanimously refu'icd by the ftlayor and 
Board of Aldermen. It was slyled, bj the jiolitical news- 
[)apcrs, ' an inecndiary request ' — it was declared that lo 



16 



First Night — Monday — Mi\ Breckinriitge. 



\v;i3 yet to ho solved. BIr. Thompson bad spoken of the 
noithein states as the greatest friends of slavery, forgetting 
that lie had formerly represented tlie clergy as sucli. (2) This 
was one of t!ie principal reasons of his want of success — 
of what might justly be called his signal failure. He had 
brought unjust charges against an entire people, and had in 
consequence been ill-treated. (3) Mr. Thompson had shown 

occupy the hall for such a laudiblc purpose would ' pollute 
it,' lliat ' such a contamination ' would lake from it ' half 
the venerated sacredness of the place/ and tlial the meet- 
ing would only be ' a display of rioting and excess ' ! The 
estimable members of the Convention weie branded as 
' the wretched plotters of mischief ' — ' a disorganizing fac- 
tion ' — 'the fanatical banditti' — 'traitors' — 'ranlBrs" — 
' llio liasost organized band that had set ilself to work to 
dissolve the workmanship of our patriot fathers ' — and as 
' mad fanatics, who, if unchecked, will trample our free- 
dom in the dust ' ! 'I'he refusal of the Board of Alder- 
men was declared to be ' well and bravely done ! ' for the 
' old temple of LIBERTY must not be desecrated by ad- 
mitting within its walls,' those who believe that all men 
arc created equal, and that the oppression of our colored 
countrymen is a stain upon our national escutcheon ! — But 
Fnneud Hall was freely opened, a short time afterward, 
to a great ])ro-slavcry meeting of the citizens, on which 
occasion the JIayor (Theodore Lyman) presided. Cheers 
were there given for Washington, because he had been 
a slaveholder ! — Now, ' how did it happen ' that George 
'J'liompson was ' ill-treated and despised ' in Boston ! ! 

(2) Well, do these two statements conflict with each 
other ? Certainly not. May not the northern slates and 
the clergy agree in this matter ? 

(3) la one place, Mr. B. charges the unpopularity of 
IMr. Thompson upon his ' principle^;,' and upon his ' union 
will) a small and odious parly.' Here he accounts for his 
ill-treatment, not because Mr. T. dcnonnced slaveholding 
as a sin under all circumstances, or because he advocated 
the doctrine of immediate emancipation, but simply be- 
cause ' he brought unjust charges against an entire people.' 
What ! did he not except even the abolitionists, flir. 
Breckinridge ? But, the truth is, he brought no charge so 
unjust against any portion of the people, as is this false 
accusation of ihc vanquished Marylander. Those who 
.snobbed Mr. T. or instigated others to mob him, would not 
^listen to him, and of course knew nothing of his senti-. 
.iTients, except that he was a foreigner and an abolitionist, 

They did not care whether he impeached the character of 
one or many persons, the southern slave-drivers or •' the 
.entire people.' When the guilty Jews took up stones to 
stone the Saviour, or when they nailed him to the cross, 
was this behavior the impulse of conscious innocence on 
their part ? Or when ihey gnashed on Stephen with their 
Aeclh, and cried out wiih a loud voice, and stopped their 
cars, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out 
of the city, and stoned him — was all this done to prove 
him a calumniator ? So, when George Thomjjsou had 
brickbats and rotten eggs hurled at his head, and was 
' even made to flee fur his life ' from this country, did such 
'patriotic' conduct disprove his charges? or was it not 



the better part of valor disci-etion, in taking care never to 
visit any of the slave States. (4) He had never seen a slave* 
holder, except, perhaps, he had met such an individual id 
a free State. At least, if he had done so, it. was a cir- 
cumstance which was not generally known, one of those 
hidden things of which it was not permitted to read. — 
Having made this observation, he (Mr. B.) would proceed 
to state that in the slaveholding states there was a large 
minoi'ity— in some nearly half of the population — zealons- 

rather an evidence of conscious and intolerable guilt, than 
of wounded innocence, on the part of his assailants 1 Uo 
upright and virluous men resort to lynch law, in order to 
vindicate the charncler of their country? O, .shame upon 
thii clerical apologist of riots and rioters ! For, it will be 
observed, when alluding to the brutal trcaimenl of Mr. T., 
he expresses no disapprobation of it; but seems rather to 
exult ihat it was administered I 

(4) This murderous taunt is flung at Mr. T. more than 
once in the course of this discussion. It was frequently 
in the mouths of the most abandoned wretches in this 
country, during his memorable sojourn among us. What 
feeling heart does not shudder at its repetition under such 
circumstances, and in the jeering language that ' the bet- 
ter part of valor is discretion ' ? Here Mr. B. sinks him- 
self to a level with southern ruffians, and clearly shows 
that he has ' no flesh in his obdurate heart.' It seems to 
me that a man, who, knowing that Mr. 'J'hompson would 
have been instantly put to death, in the most barbarous 
manner, had he ' visited any of the slave Stales,' can 
taunt him as a coward for not madly casting himself into 
the flames, would at least not lament to hear that he 
had been struck down by the hand of an assassin, or 
scourged like a malefacto- by a pro-slavery mob. Most 
surely, moral courage — duty — self-consecration — all have 
their proper limits. When He who knew no fear, the 
immaculate Redeemer, saw that his enemies intended to 
east him down from the brow of a hill, he prudently with- 
drew from their midst. When he sent forth his apostles, he 
said unto them, ' When they persecute you in one city, flee 
ye into another.' There was nothing of cowardice in ilii.'i 
conduct, or in this advice. To accuse George Thompson 
of lacking moral bravery is palpably ridiculbus Had he 
been a selfish man, he never would have visited these 
shores as an anti-slavery advocate. Had he been a weak 
or timid man. his mouth would have been shut from the 
/irst lioiir of his arrival to the time of his departure ; for 
he was momenily perilling his life even in the free States 
—and the marvel is, that he escaped destruction. Had 
he been a time-serving, popularity-seeking man, he would 
not have made himself of no reputation by pleading in 
behalf of a despised and down-lrodden people, and by 
associating with those who were every where stigmatized 
and treated as incendiaries and fanatics ; for if he had 
only trimmed a little, or swerved but one hair's breadth 
from the strict line of duty, or uttered some apologies for 
slaveholders, or lauded the Colonization Society, or re- . 
mained neutral, or shrunk from the company of abolition- 
ists, he would have been extolled to the skies, and might 
liave moved through the country with almost universal 
eclat. Had he not been a man of invincible integrity, of 



First Night — Mondaii~Mr. 



Breckinridge. 



17 



1y cnpnged in rnitlieriiig tlio abolilinn of ylavpry. In 
Kontiicky, shiviiioldinjr luil \n-e.n introdiicr.i only hy a sniail 
iniijority. When soiiictiino artcr, a Cfinieiitiuli cunvaKj^cil 
llu; sii!)ji'rt, ihat niajmiiy was diininislinil, and still at this 
limir ill lliat slate, in wliicli lie had brcii horn, rmo of the 
f^reatPst pidiilcal <|ii<\''tiniis agitated was, wlielhcr slave- 
lioldiiij; slioiill 1)0 abiilisliiNJ or n^tuiniid as an idcinent of 
the constitution. A law had long ago hecn passed, impos- 
ing a fine of six hundred didlars on uhouver hroiight a 
slavi> into the Sta<e for sale, and 300 dollars on whoever 
l)onghlhirn. A fine of 900 dollars was thus inude iIk; pen- 
alty of introducing a slave into KeriiueUy as nierehandixe. 
lie was sorry to liave to speak of liiiying and sidling lui- 
inan heings; hut, to lie understoo<l, it was alis(dtilcly nnn- 
vssary that he should do so. In Virginia al.-^o, from whiidi 
Kentui'ky had been in great nieasiue peopled, not many 
years ago a frigiitfnl iusiirrcrlion had t.d<en place, and 
many cruelties had been practised — it was needless to say 
wliethcr most on the side of the blacks or llic whiles'. 
The succeeding legislature of that state toid; up ihe ques- 
lioM of slavery in its length and breadth — passed a law lor 
giving 20,000 dollars to the Colonization Society, — and 
rejected oidy by a small majority a proposal to appropri- 
ate that fiMid equally to the benefit of slaves to be set (ice 
— as of those already free, lie mcntionetl these things 
merely to show that there was a great and an increasing 
party in the south, favoraldc to the abolition of negro sla- 
very. In fact, in some of the soulhern States (lie free peo- 
ple of color bad increased faster llian the whites ; in l\lary- 
land alone, there were 52,0C0 of a free colored population, 
all of whom, or their immediate progenitors, had been vol- 
untarily manumitted. It was necdU^ss to say, theiefore, 
that in the soulhern Slates there was no anti-slavery par- 
ty. There certainly was not such a party in Mr. 'I'liomp- 
son's sense of the word ; but Mr. Tliompson's deilnition 
was not the correct one, as he (Mr. B.) would explain di- 
rectly. Was it fair then, he would ask, to hold up to the 
British public, not only the people of the free states, but 
also this great minority in the southern states as pro-slave- 
ry men ? Let slavery be denounced, but let not the de- 
nunciation fall upon the whole American people, many of 
whom were doing all they could for its abolition. If Lou- 
isiana resolved on perpetuating slavery, let this be told of 
Louisiana. If South Carolina adhered to the system, sjiy 
sn of South Carolina ; but do not implicate the mass of 
the American ))eople, so many of whom are as much op- 
posed to slavery as is Mr. Thompson himself. He had 
heard it sniil that tlie sun never set on the l?ritisli domin- 
ions. As well, thim, uiiglit the British people- be identi- 
fied with the idolatry which prevaileil in Hiinlostan, as the 
Americans be identified with negro slavery. Thecpiestion 
was not American ; it existed solely Ijelween the slave- 
holder and the world. It was unfair, therefore, to blame 
t!ie Americans as a nation : the slaveholder and the slave- 
rare delermiiialioii,aiid of indomitable courage., he woidd 
liave acted with the pusillanimity which cliarnclcriied 
Drs. Cox and Iloby, those recreant English delegates, 
whose visit among us inflicted a deep wound U|)on llic 
cause of bleeding humanity, fiom which it has not yet 
wholly recovered. 'I'lio only reason why Mr. Thompson 
did. not labor at the South was, 6cratt« the norlk needed 
first to ie conrer/erf, being deeply implicated in the guilt 
of oppression, and because the moral power of the nation 
being lodged at the north, it wns indispensably Dcccosary 
that that power should be enlisted against the slave-sys- 
tem, in order to insure its peaceful overthrow. Jiut what 
is implied in the malignanl sneer against Mr. Thompson, 
if not that he wouki Jiavc been iiniuolaied U))on the allarof 
southern rage. — Inj Mr. Breckinridge's C07t<titiie7i(s .'—\f 
he had crossed the line of the Potomac ? 



holder nlone should be blameil, let iiiin reside v\here In" 
mighl. Having tints disposed of the first branch of his ar- 
gument, he was naturally led to explain the wonderful phe- 
nomenon of Mr. Thoiiipson'H recejition in America — to 
give a reason why that reception was so diflerent from 
"hat the same gentleman met with in Gla»go\v. Mr. 
'i'hompson had taken up the (piestion as one of civil or- 
ganization. Now the fact was, that the American nation 
was divided into two parties on the sidiject, namely, the 
pro-slavery, anil llu; anii-slnvery parli(^■■. One party said, 
li;t it alone; the other, and by far the most numerous par- 
ty, said soiNelliing ought to be done in rcdation to it. In 
the last named class was to be included the population of 
all the non-slaveliolding states. He declared, in the prefl-' 
encc of God, his conviction, that there was not a «ane' 
man in the frcfi slates who did not wish the world rirl of 
.slavery. He believed the same of a large minority in the 
stales in which slavery existed. The pro-slavery party 
themselves, were also divided. One section, and he rejoic- 
ed to adil a small one, called into exertion in fact only by 
that effervescence which had been produced by the vio- 
lence of Mr. T's friemis — spoke of slarery as an exceed-' 
ingly good thing — as not only consistent with the law of 
God, but as absolutely necessary for the advancement of' 
civilization. This party was organized within the last 
few years, and met the violence of Mr. Thompson's party 
by a corresponding violence, as a beam naturally seek.-i its 
balance. Another section of the pro-slavery party consid-' 
ered slavery a great evil, and wished that "it weip. aboU' 

i.^hed, but they did not see how this could be effected. 

They had been born in a state of society where it had an 
existence, and they could see no course to adopt but to ' 
lot it cure itself. 'I'hese were the two sertiims into which ' 
the supporters of slavery were divided. The anti-slavery ' 
parly was also composed of iiulivichials who had different 
views of the subject. The one class had been called Grad- . 
ualists. Emancipationists, and Colonizationists. The 
other w'cre called Abolitionists. With the latter clasB, 
Mr. Thompson had identified himself. And now, as 
while in America, by his praises of Mr. Garrison, and all', 
their leaders, his abuse of their opponents, and his efforts' 
to chain the British p'lblic, hand and foot, to them and 
their projects, shows ins continueil devotion to them. He ' 
would reler to this party again, Ir.it in the mean time, he 
would only say that its members manifested fiir more hon- ' 
esty than wisdom. In 18.33, the abolitionists held a con- 
vention in Philadelphia, at which they drew up a declara- 
tion of independence — a declaration which he dared to 
say Mr. Thompson cherished as the apple of his eye; but 
which had been more cffeclual )n raising mobs than ever 
witch was in raising the wind. The docnnvnt of which ' 
he spoke announced three principles, to the promulgation ' 
of which the members of the Convention pledgeil their ' 
lives and their forluues. A number of the particulars ■ 
specified, in support of which they said they would live ' 
and die, went to change materially the laws and constitii- [ 
tton of the United Stat(}s, an I vet it was pretended that ' 
this was not a political (|uestion ! Their first principle 
was, that every human being has an instant right to be 
free, irrespective of all consequences; and incapable of 
restriction or inodificati(ni. The second was like unto it, ' 
that the riglit of citizeiisliij), inherent in every man, in the , 
spot where he is born, is so perfect, that to de|)rive him of , 
its exercise in itny way whatever — even !iv emigration un- 
der strong uviral cons!,raiiit, is a sin. Their third prin- 
ciple was, that all prejii lice against C(dor was sinful ; and ] 
that all our julg.nentsand all our feelings tow ards others, , 
should be regulated exclusively by their moral and intel- , 
leetual worth. Mr. 15. said "he' stated these principles ; 
from memory only — as he did most of llu; facts on which i 
he relied. But he was willing to s;,ui 1 or fiill, in both i 
countries, upon the sulistautial accuracy of his stalemenls. 
Mr. Brockinridgt! here closed his address, the period al- 
lotted to him having exjiircd. 



18 



Fint Nig/ii — Tdonday — Mr. Thomijson. 



Mr. THOjIPSO?? was aiisinus to lay hd'ore l!ia mef t- 
ing documentary te»timniiy, in pitUsencc to nny tiling I'.n 
could say liimself. Ralhi'T than set Ibrtli his ou-n viens 
as he had done on nr.iiiy fiirn)(;r oc-casion?, lis wif^liel to 
bring f«r\v!ird sncii dot nincnls as even his opjjonpnt would 
admit to he really American. He pied!,'e.'l iiimiell" loshow 
that this was an American (itieslion. lie \va? not prepar- 
ed for this branch of the snhject, becan^is ho had nui ex- 
pected that Mr. Breckinridge would exonerate America 
from the charge of being a siaveholding nation; neverlhc- 
less, lie was perfectly ready to take it up. He would un- 
dertake to provo that the Kxistence of slavery in tlie Uni- 
ted Slates was the result of a compromise — that the con- 
stitution of the Unitfd States was, in fact, based upon a 
compromise, in relation to thi« snlject. Atthetime when 
the constitution was agreed to, the then slaveholding 
■tatei refused to come into what was called the conrc-dcra- 
cy of republica, unle*.? slaveholding wore pcrmittod. At 
that time there were only three hundred ihonsaml slate.i in 
the union; now there were two millions and a lislf. So 
much, said Mr. Thompson, for what tlu^ good and influ- 
ential men of the South, spoken of by Mr. I'reckimidge, 
liad done for the abolition of slavery. 'J'hen there were 
S00,000; now there were 2,100,060. The method i)y 
which these good and influential people had gone about 
extirpating slavery, had been an Irish method; it had 
shown distinctly the CTCtent of their zeal and usefulness. 
Whv, soltinT asiifc their iullnence altogel'.icr, they 'night, 
had tliey been as numerous as rej)rcsented by liis respect- 
ed opponent, have nianu)nitted as many of iheir own 
slaves. It was said, no doubt, that the law.-) prevented 
this; but who made the laws'? The child could not do 
what her mamma had commanded her to d», because she 
was tied to thenialiogany table; biU when asked who 
tied her to the mahogany table, she could only answer that 
it was herself. In like manner, be could turn round on 
those whom Ins respected opponent represented as haters 
of slavery. Emancipationists they w i>hed to be called; 
Colonizationists they ought to be called. Ho would ask 
them, what they had done 1 Had they not compromised 
every principle o( justice and truth by permitting slavc- 
liolding in their union 1 Had they not even bestowed ex- 
clusive privileges im the slaveholders 1 Had theynot be- 
stowed on them surh privileges as that even now ihofsent 
24 or 2.5 representatives to Congress more than their pro- 
portion \ ills resiiectcd o|)ponent had sai<l this was not a 
national question. \\'hy then send six thousand bayonets 
to the south for the protection of the slaveholder ? Why. 
vcic the American ;ieople taxed in order to niainlain bay- 
onets, blunderbusses and artillery in the South 1 IVot a 
national ([uestion ! Why then was Rli.-sonri admitted a 
member of the union — Tdissouri a slavelioldiug state, ad- 
mitted by the votes of ll'.e northern republics ■? Mr. Rre^k- 
inridge had fought very shy of the state of the Capital, 
and the r.owcr of C;ini;ress to sni)[)ress the internal traitic 
in slaves. He (Mr. 'I'lv^mpson) trusted, however, tb.at 
this branch of the subjei:t would be taken u|). Hi.i oppo- 
nent himself in a letter addressed to the New Yc^rk Evan- 
gelist, had stated that Congress possessed full po\<-er to 
suppress the internal traffic in slaves; and yet they did it 
not. There was in fact no question at all respecting ihe 
power of the Congress, in this m;;tler; yet it was said ihe 
question of slavei'v was not national ! Y\w peop-laof the 
Northern states — the sinvery-hating, liberty-lnviug p;-o[)le 
of the Northern stales, had said ih.ey would fight shoulder 
to shoulder with the slaveholders of the .South, should the 
slaves dare to rise and say they were men, and after all 
this, it was assorted that this was not a national (juestion. 
Mr. Brecki\iridge had sai.l that he (Mr. Thompison) got 
nil his information at second hand. He might have ti.ld 
the rettson why; he knew, however, ihatsuch arevelati(in 
would have been awful. fb~ knew that pious men, advo- 
cates of the cause of aboliti n, had been hanged, bu!( her- 
eJ, their backs ploughed up by rre-sbyierian elJers; and 



if i-uch had been done towards natives of New England, 
what could 11 Klrnnger sui-h as he have expected ! He 
(!\lr. T.) had, it seenis, got all at second hand. He would 
tell llie meeting vvhc-rc he had obtained some of his infor- 
mation. I'rom Mr. i5reckinridge hunself; and he must 
say, that rounder or jusl('r views respecting slavery — or a 
more complete justifi<;ation of the missron iil which he 
(Mr. T.) had been so lately engaged, conid scarcely be 
met with. This was evidance which he had no fear could 
be rul»d out of court. It was that of the friend and de- 
fender of AmericM. Mr. T. then read the lollowiug pas- 
sage from a speech delivered by Mr. Breckinridge: — 

What, then, is slavery ? for the queslion relates to the 
action of certain principles on it, and lo its probable and 
proper rcsidts J vvhat is slavery as it exists among ui ? 
U'o repiv, it is thai condition culorced by the laws of 
ouc-l.-alf Ihe States of this conlediMacy, iii wViich one 
portion of the routmunily, called masters, is allowed such 
power over another poriimi called slaves ; as, 

1. To deprive iheni of Ihe entire earnings of their nwii 
tabor, exceoi only so much as is necessary to foiuinnc la- 
bor itself, by «ontinuiiig hcalthrul exisleiice, tlius commit- 
ting clear robbery ; 

2. 'I'o reduce ihem lo the necessity of univcr'sal concu- 
binage, bv denying lo them Ihe civil rights nf marriage ; 
llnis breaking up the diuirest relations of life, and cu- 
couroging univeisal prosliliilion. 

3. 'i'o deprive them of ihe means and opporluniiies of 
moral and inlelleclual culture, in many Slates making il 
a high penal olfence to teach them lo read ; thus perpo- 
lualiiig vvhatevei of evil theic is Ihal proceeds from igno- 
rance ; 

4. To set up between parents and their chiblren an au- 
ihorilv higher ilian the impulse of nature and the laws of 
God ; which breaks up the nnlhorily of Ihe father over 
his own oflspriiig. and, at [)leasnre separates the mother 
al a rrluridess distance from her ciiild ; thus abrogating 
ihe clearest laws of nature ; thus ouiraging all (lecency 
and justice, and degrading and op[)ressmg thousands 
upon thousands of beings created like themselves in the 
image of ilie most high (J!nd ! 

This is slavery as it is daily exhibited in every slave 
Slate. 

Here, continued Mr. T., is slavery acknowledged to be 
clear robbery, and yet it is not to be instantly abolished ! 
Universal concubinage and prostitution, which must not 
immediately be put an end to! Oh, these wicked aboli- 
tionists, who seek to put an immediate close to such a 
state of things! What an immensity of good have the 
Emancipatioiisls of the South, as they wish lo be called, 
of the Col( nixationists as they ought to be called, done du- 
ring their 50 years' labor, when this is yet left for the 
Rev. n. J. Breckinridge to say ! Dear, delightful, ener- 
getic men ! Tridy, if this is ail they have been able to ef- 
fect, it is time that the work were connnilted to abler 
hands. Mr. Thompson then read an extract from ihe 
rhiladelphfa declaration. Jlr. Breckinridge had called it 
a declaration of independence, but it was only a declara- 
tion of sentiments : — 

We have met together for the achievement of an enter- 
prise, without which, that of our fathers is incomplete, 
and which, for its magnitude, solemnity, and probable re- 
sults u|)nn the destiny of the world, as far as transcends 
theirs as moral tnilli does phvsical force. 

Ill purity of motive, in earnestness of zsal, in decision 
of iuirpose, ill iiilrepidiiy of action, in steadfaslness of 
fjilh, ill sincerity of spirit, we would i.ol be inferior to 
tiicnj. 

Their principles led them lo wage w,»r against Iheir op- 
pressors, and lo spill human blood like walcr, in order to 
lie free. Ours forliid the doing of evil iliat good may coijie, 
and lead ns to reject, and to entreat the op|iressed lo 
rejeci, ihe u.«e of all earnal weapons for deliverance (n.n> 



First Night— MoJidaij — Mr. Brfehiiiririge. l9 

boiidai^e—relyiiiij solely upon (lioso wliicii arc sprriltial, uoiis lransj;rcssi<in of all llic lioly cooinnndmenls — ond 

and mfslity through (Jod lo iho pulliiis down of slronij Hut liierrloru ihey oiiijhl lo he iiislanlly abio^aled. 

,,',f' . , . , •,,„„„ ,i,„,„,,^l,-,M lie woiili ask if llicre wtiti :iBv tliini' hero difTcTcnlfiow 

r heir nipasurps were n ivsicnl rosislance — Ihp inarshii.i- i .1 , , 1 ,■ i- • ,, ,1 -in 

. " "•^" " 1 . I ,.,,,._,,,,,-,. \v i;it ho h:u ii'H' 1 0111 his ici-ppcled opponent T 1 ht 

IMS ni arms — lie hnslilc array — Ihn innrinl (-iieHoiiiPi . 1 . ■ vi u .„l 

/■^ , ,, , , , ,1 ■' ■,■ ,„ ,,(• ,,,„,, I ...irliv sciiriments w«ie lie fame, tiii>iij>|i not uiven m Mr. UrBrk- 

Ours slial he such onlv as ihe oppo^ilioti ol iiinrni nirily • . . , . 111 m u i,- 

to moraUorrnp.ion-.he desirurlion ol error l.y ihcpo- iund«e's strong and glowing language. Mr. Hrerkin- 

lency of trull, -lli« overthrow of prejudice l.y Ihe po»or '"Ij-'^ « de.eiiption of slavery was even .uore .nclho.I.eal 

of iove-and the aholtlio.i of slav.i v by ihc ^]mh of 10- clearer, and heller arranged; lie was lliorefoie .ndmed tc 

peiiiance " prefer it to the other. He would, however, ukk IMr 

Their <^rievances "real as they wrrf, were Iridiiifr in Breckinridge not to persevere in speaking of the violence 

comparison with the wrongs and" suUcrlnjcs uf those for as he called it, of the aholit.onists, only in general terms 

whom we plead. Our fathers were never slaves— never H<! hoped hu would point out the instances to which he al 

Uoiiglit and sold like ratlle— never shut out from the liiilit liided, and not take advantage (d' thein, because they wer« 

of k'^ioivlcdgc and religion— never sul<jcclcd lo tht> la-<li a handful and ot/i'ou.f. Tlufv were nol fingulur in heiiif 

of brutal taskmaster-!. ° calleii odious. Noah was called odious by ihe men of his 

Uiil those for whose cmaneipa'ion we are striving, — day, berautie he pointed out to them the wickedness ol 

roiislitutiiig at the i>rcsuiit al leasl l-Gtli part of our conn- which they were guilty. Every rclormer had been callec 

tryinen, — arc recognised by the laws, and treated by odious, and he trusted to be a lwa\s among those who were 

their fellow beings as marketable commodities — aso:«od.s deemed odious by slaveholders and their apologists. lit 

ind rh TlUds I' ' •' " '"^->-' '• ■ = "> ,^},,t^Ar,rfA ilnil X* nt llie »....,,..»...] 1 l.-.i K.I ...; .I.«,I "Vf .. P. i.*./>L. •.■i-i/ln-A ttx f, ti-fi lin rrnn. 



asunaer — iiie icncier oa[H; uom ine arms ui i>» n.-m.^. 1 i,p j,,,,., ^y.,^ „|,^ ,„,ii.e(l <li.-lant wlien even nere tin 

inolher — the heart-broken wife from her weeping husband friends of iwgfo freedom had been deemed o<iious — whei 

— al the caprice or pleasure of irresponsible tyrants ; — ^^^^^ ^^,^^.^ .^ j^j'^^..^. |,.,n,if„i ,„ct in a room in the Black Bui 

and for lln' crime of having a dark Romplexion, si.fTcr ihc juj- j^^jj f^.^^^ \K;\ng odious llir-y had become respectable 

pangs of hunger, the innictiaii of stri()cs, and the igno- ^nj f,.;,,,, ,.„g|,ectable triumphant," in consequence of iheii 

niiny of brutal servitude. They are kepi in healheuish i,.j^,j|,„ renounced expediency, and taken their standon ih. 

darkness by laws expressly euacled lo make their instruc- bioadVinciples of truth and justice, 
lion a criminal offence. 

These are the prominent circumstances in the condition ^.^^^ BRECIvIMilDGE said h?. had on so many occa- 

of more than two millions ef our people, llic proot ol ^._^_^^ ^^^^ ^ .^^ ^^^ ^ diflerent for:ns uttered the sentiment, 

which may be found in thousands of nid.spulahlc facts, ^^^^^^.^.,^^^^ .^^ j,,^ passages which had just been readashis. 

and ,11 the laws ol the slaveholdmg slates. ^^^^^ j^^^ ^^.^^^ ^^^^^,^,^ ^^ ^.^^. ^^,^^^^ ^^,,,^j particular s,,eech 01 

Hence we maintain :- n^Ivll^^os nfilHS v.'iling ihev were taken". But he had no doubt that if tht 

That 111 view of the civ: am rei gions priv iieges 01 tins a .' , • 1 1 1 1 1 1 ■. 11 

.. ' ,. '".'='■"• ,• „ 7. „,,',, .i|,,7i hv Miv wide pa.ssage to which they belonged were read. It would 

nation tlie Tiiilt of its oonress o 1 is u lennaiitu o\ ?iii\ 10 . , *. , ,• ■ , , . . 

nauon.me ., iin 01 IS opi Ls:, 1 j be seen that ihev contained, in uddilion to what they had 

other on the face ol ilic eartli — and, uicrciore, , , , • i-,- 1 1 ,- „ c ,1. • ,• 1 

That it is bound lo repent instantly, to undo the heavy heard, the most uaqual. led condemna ion of the rrat.onal 

burdens, to break ever v yoke, and to let ihe oppressed go course pursue.i by the Abobtionis s. He believed also that 

^ ' . -' ' wdialever it wam, that writing had been ultered by liiin 11 

\Ve further maintain— =1 ''''''^^ ="'tte. Fof he could .say for himself, that he ha< 

That no man has a right lo enslave or imhrule his never said that of a brother behind his back, which h( 

brother— lo hold or'acknovriedge him, for oiirtiTiomonl.as a woulj be afraid or unwilling to repeat before his face 

piece of merchandise to keep back his hire by Ir.uid — He had never gone to Boston to cry back to Baltimore ho« 

or lo brutalize his mind by denying him the means of in- great a sin they were guilty of in upholding slavery. Th( 

tellectual, social and moral improvement. worst things which he had said against slavery had beer 

The right lo enjoy liberty is inalienable. To invade it -said in the slave slates, and had Mr. Thoin|)son gone ther( 

is lo usum the prerogative "of Jehovah. Every man has and seen with his two eves w4iat he describes wholly upor 



gOOK III \VllclLt:iCI illl/.dlil, H*.- OJU'HtL. li.l.V^ ..-.-V-.. ...... .V^._T .. 

ius trite colors, though he had read it in his own blood. I 

'I'hcrcfore wc believe and affirm — y-ml ,jf Tarsu.s had gciie to .'America to see slavery — ] 

That there is no difference in principle, between the ^j.^^.^ ^^ ^,^^, ^^,j,|, ,||y j^^i^j ^^f q^^j^ ),g would have 'beei 

African slave trade and American slavery : ri^ht sure "to see it. He did not sav that Mr. T. shouli 

That every Aineriean citizen who relains a human be- j^.^^,^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^1^^ Southern States, if his life was likely t. 

ing in invoUinlary bondage, is [according to &criptiue,J ^^^ pndangered by his going there; but he would say this 

a man-slealer. , r „ .,.,,1 that Mr. '^I'hompson ought"not to pretend that he had beei 

That the slaves ought instantly to be set Iree, aii<l .^^ ,,,^ j^.^^ ,,p„,V.^ ^ ,„.,r,vr in the cause, when in reaiil 

brought under the protection of law 1,^. hid exercised the most" masterly discretion. With re 

That If thry had lived fr.,m the >-«' " .^';-- ' f;'-' .^.-d /the .^ ts o the abolitionist's, as he had been calle. 

to the present period, ^-' ^'^''J-^/;;^^' .;';';,], I^; ^p„n to mention particulars, he could uot say that he ha, 

^:^Pe-=;^-b: rif'^l^LJ^w-^^iave" con- eL heard of ..ir havmg ki.^ any ..on. nor _h.^h 

' T aValUholVbwrXh are now in force admi.ting tion, however, th^tt he himself had once almost been mob 

the ight of slavery, are therefore, before Go.l, utterly bed in Boston and that, too b>- a mo . »'-- t-P «^a- 

null and void ; being an audacious usurpation of the Di- him by placards written, as he belle^8d, by William LI . 

vine prerogative, a daring infringement on the law of ua- Garrison. Ho had never obtained direct proof of thi. 

ture a base overthrow of the very fonndaiions of the so- but he might state, as a reason for his be het, that the in 

cia! compact— a complete extinction of all the relations, flamtnatory placards were of the precise breadtu and ap 

endearments and obligations of mankind, and a prcsumpt- pcaianoc of the columns of Garrison s paper— tbe Uber£ 



20 



First Night — Monday — Mr. Thompson. 



tor, and the breadth of the columns of no other newspaper 
in that city. Mr. B. slated a second case, in whicli, (in 
tlie arrival at the City of New York of the Rev. J.L. 
Wilson, a Missionary to Western Africa, in cliarge of two 
lads, the sons of two African Kings, committed by tlieir 
fathers to the Maryland Colonization Society for educa- 
tion; some friends of the Anti-Shivery Society of tliat 
iCitv, witii tlie concurrence, if not hy the procurement, as 
was universally believed, of Eliznr VVriglu, jnn., a lead- 
ing person, and Secretary of the principal Society of .'Vb- 
elitionists — got out a writ, to take the bodies of the boys, 
I under the pretence of believing liiat tiiny had been kidnap- 
(ped in Africa. These two cases he considered, would per- 
Jiaps satisfy Mr. T's appetite for facts in the meantime; 
;he would have plenty more of them when tliey came to the 
(inain question of (lebate. One otlier instance, iin I he 
would have done. There was a law in the United Stales, 
[that if a slave run away from one of the slaveholding 
iBtates to any of tiie non-slaveholdiug slates, tlic authorities 
[of the latter were bound to give liiin up to his master. A 
(runaway slave had been confined in New York prison prc- 
1 vious to being sent home, an attempt was made to stir up a 
iiinob, for the purpose of liberating him. A bill instigating 
I the people to take the law into their own hands, was 
; traced to an abolitionist — the same Elizur Wright, jun. 
,,He brought to tiie office of one of the principal city pa- 
; pers, a denial of the charge — in a note signed by hini in 
jjhis oflicial capacity. Me was told that was insufficient, as 
pit was in his individual, not in his oflicial capacity, that he 
, was supposed to have dons tlie act in question. He re- 
j,,plied it would be time to make the denial in that form, 
g when the charge was so specifically made; meantime he 
(]Considered the actual denial sufticient. Then, sir, said 
yOne present, I charge yon with writing the placard — for I 
y saw it in your hand writing. These instances were suf- 
{ficient to prove the charge of violence which he had maiie 
J was not unfounded. In leference to the statement made 
J by Mr. Thompson regarding the number of slaves in the 
,, United States, at the commencement of the Revolution, 
( Mr. B. said, it was impossible to know precisely what 
j^ number there was at that time, as there had been no sta- 
gtistical returns before 1790, at which time there were six 
1 hundred and sixty-five thousand slaves in the five original 
( slave states. Tlie exertions of the American nation to 
J put an end to slavery were treated with ridicule, but he 
J would have them to bear in mind, that there were in' the 
.United States, 400,000 free people of ccdor, all of whom, 
,or their progenitors, Inul bi'en set free by the people of 
(America, and not one of these, so far as he knew, had 
ibeen liberated by an abolitionist. In addition to these, 
(there were not less than 4,000 more in Africa, many of 
.whom had been fi eed from fetters and sent to that country. 
,He would ask if all this was to be counted as nothing. If 
,they were to consider fin- a moment the enormous sum 
which it would lake to ransom so many slaves, they would 
perceive the value of (he sacrifice. Tiiey might say that 
they had given 150,000,000 dollars towards tiie abolition 
of slavery. It might seem selfish to talk of it thus; but 
if the conduct of Great Britain, rich and powerful as she 
was, was reck(Mied worthy of praise fir having done 
an act of justice in granting; emaucipaiion to the West In- 
dia slaves at the cost of 100,000,000 dollars or £20,000,000, 
how much more might be said of £.30,000,000 being paid 
by a few comparatively poor and scattered commimities 
and individual men. They had been told some fine stories 
of a mahogany table ttj which the people of America had 
tied themselves, and they were left to infer that it was 
quite easy, that it merely required the exertion of will, for 
them to set their slaves free. Now, on this head he would 
inly ask had he the power of fixiiig the place of his birth 7 
No. Nor lia.i he any hand in making the laws of ihe 
ilace where he was born, nor the puuer of alteiing them. 
' rhey might, indeed, l)e altered, and he ought to add, they 
L jVould have been altered already, but for the passionate 



and intemperate zeal of the Abolitionists; but for the con- 
duct of tliose who tell the slaveholders of the Southern 
states, tiiat they must at once give freedom to the slaves, 
at whatever cost or whatever liazard, and unless they do 
so, that they will be denounced on the housetops by all the 
vilest names which language can furnish, or the imagina- 
tion of man can conceive. And what was the answer that 
the planters gave to these disturbers of the public peace 1 
First, coolly, ' there's the door,' and next, ' if you try to 
tell these things to those who, when they learn them, will 
at once turn round and cut our throats, we must take 
measures to prevent your succeeding.' Such conduct was 
just what was to be expected on the part of the slavehold- 
ers. Tiipy saw these men coming among their slaves, and 
where they could not appeal to their judgments, endeavor- 
ing to speak to the eyes of the black population by prints, 
representing their masters, harsh and cruel. It was not 
surprising that such unwise conduct should beget a bitter 
feeling of opposition among the inhabitants of the South- 
ern states. They themselves knew too well the critical na- 
ture of their position, and the dangers of tampering with 
the passions of the black population. Let him who doubt- 
ed go to the Southern states, and he would learn that those 
harsh laws in regard to slavery which had been so much 
condemned were passed immediately after some of those 
insurrections, those spasmodic efforts of the slaves to free 
themselves by violence, which could never end in good, and 
which the conduct of the abolitionists was calculated con- 
tinually to renew. They ought to take these things into 
account when they heard statements made about the strong 
excitement against the abolitionists. He would repeat 
what he had before stated, that the cause of emancipation 
had been ruined by that small party with which Mr. Thomp- 
son had identified himself; but to whose chariot wheels he 
trusted the people of this coun'.ry would never suffer them- 
selves to be bound. 

Mr. GEO. THOMPSO.X said the work he had to do 
in r<d"erenci' to the last speech was by no means great or 
difficult. They had heard a great many things stated by 
Mr. Breckinridge on the great (inestion in debate, but 
every one of these had been stated a thousand times be- 
fore, and answered again and again within the last sixty 
years. Within these very walls, they had heard many of 
them brought forward and refuted within the last four 
years. But thtre was one part of his opponent's speech 
to which he woidd reply with emphasis. And he could 
not but confess that he had listened to that one part of it 
with sur[n-ise. He knew Mr. lireckinridge to be the ad- 
vocate of gradual emancipation; he (Mr. Thompson) had 
therefore come prepared to hear all the arguments em- 
ployed by the gradualists, urged in the ablest manner, but 
he had not been prepared to hear iVom that gentleman's 
lips the things he had heard — he did not expect that the 
foul charge of stirring up a mob against Mr. Breckinridge 
for advocating the principles of Colonization, would be 
bi ought against William Lloyd Garrison. But they would 
here see the propriety and utility of his calling upon his 
opponent to leave generalities, and come to something spe- 
cific — to lay his finger on a fact which could be examined 
and tested circumstantially. And what did they suppose 
was the truth in the present case 1 Simply this, that 
when Mr. Breckinridge came forward to explain the prin- 
ciples of the Maryland Colonization scheme, the noisy rab- 
ble who sought to mob did so only so long as they were 
under the impression that he was an abolitionist. Mr. B. 
and his brother, wdio was along with him on that occa- 
sion, did their best to let the meeting know that they 
' were not abolitionists but colonizationists, and whenever 
the mob learned that, they became quiet. This was the 
fact in regard to that case — he would willingly stake the 
merits of the whole question on the truth of what he had 
just stated, and he would call on Mr. B. to say whether it 
was not true; he would call on him to exhibit the placard 



First Night — Monday — Mr. Thonijhwn. 



21 



which had been written liy Mr. Garrison, or to loll what 
it coiitiiiiied. He iiail a copy of llic; Lilierator of iliu day 
referred to, and l\e wiudd ar^k him to point out a single 
word ill it wliicli conld lie f.nnid fanit willi. lie wonid 
dare Mr. I?, to fnid a single sciilentM! in tliat papi r (!alcn- 
lated to stir up a niol), or to indnc.c any one to Imrt a sin- 
gle hair of iiis head. Willi regard to ihe Maryland Colo- 
nization scliLMno, \u: was not going to enter upon il.s dis- 
cns.-ion at that hour of th<; evening, but next evening, if 
they were spared, he would endeavor to show the grot-s 
ini(|uity of that scheme, recommended as it was by Mr. 
Breckinridge. In the meantime, to return to llie nest 
charge, lliey were told of an active abolitionist — Eli/.iw 
Wright. And here he vvonld at once say tliat it was too 
bad to bring such a charge against an individual like Eli- 
xur Wright, than whom he knew no man, either on this 
or the otiur side of the Atlantic, whose nature was more 
embued with the milk of human kindness, or whose heart 
was more alive to the dictates of christian charity — it was 
too bad, he repeated, to bring such a charge against that 
man, unless it could be substantiated beyond the possibil- 
ity of doubt. They wore told that Elizur Wright had 
stirred up the people of New York to insurrection, by in- 
flammatory placards. Here indeed was a serious charge, 
but tlicy ought to know what these placards were. Again, 
he would call upon Mr. 15. to shew a copy of the placard, 
or to say what were its contents. In explanation of the 
matter, he might state to the meeting that there was a lit- 
tle truth in what had been said about this matter; and in 
order to make them understand the case properly, they 
must know, that in New York there were at all times a 
number of runaway slaves, and also that there was in the 
game city a class of men who, at least, wore the hmnan 
form, and who were even allowed to appear as gentlemen, 
whose sole profession was that of kidnappers; their only 
means of subsistence was derived from laying hold ot 
these unfortunates, and returning them to their masters in 
the South. Nothing was more common than advertise- 
ments from these gentlemen kidnappers in the newspapers, 
in which they ofl'ered their services to any slave master 
whose slaves had run off. All that was necessary was 
merely that twenty dollars should be transmitted to them 
under cover, with the marks of the runaway, who was 
soon found out if in the city, and with the clutch of a de- 
mon, seized and dragged to prison. These were the kid- 
nappers. Anil who was Elizur Wright'? He was tlie 
man who at all times was found ready to sympathise with 
those poor unfortunate outcasts, to pour the balm of con- 
solation into their wounds — to come into the Recorder's 
Court, and stand there to plead the cause of the injured 
African at the risk of his life — undeterred by the execra- 
tions of the slave masters, or the knife of his myrmidons. 
And was it a high crime that on some occasion he had 
been mistaken 1 But Elizur Wright would be able to re- 
ply to the charge himself. The account of this meeting 
would soon find its way to America, and he would then 
have an opportunity of justifying himselt'. As to the 
charge of error in his statistics on the subject of Ameri- 
can Slavery, it was very easily set at rest. He had said 
that the slave population amounted but to 300,000 at the 
date of the Union, and that it was now 2,000,000. The 
latter statement was not questioned, but it was said that 
there were no authentic returns at the date of the Union, 
and consequently, that it was impossible to say precisely. 
But although they could not say exactly, they could come 
pretty near the truth, even from the statement of Mr. 
Breckinridge. That gentleman admitted, that in 1790, 
there were only 665,000 slaves in the states. He (Mr. T.) 
had said that in 1776 there were only 300,000; but as the 
population in America doubled itself in 24 years, he was 
warranted in saying that there was no great discrepancy. 
But the question with him did not depend upon any par- 
ticular number or any particular date. It would have 
been quite the same for his argument, he contended 



whether he had taken 665,000 in 1790, or ."(10,000 in 
1776. All that he had wished to .-•liew, was the rapid in- 
crease of the slave population, and consccpientiv of ihu 
vice and misery inherent in that sjstein, evcm while the 
American people professed thems(dve.« to be so anxious to 
put an end to it altogether. Had he wished to dwell upon 
this part of the arguinenl, he could also have shown that 
the increase; of the slave population during the first twenty 
years of the union, had gmie on more rapidly even during 
that time, the trade in slaves having been formally recog- 
nised by the constitution dnring that period, and a duty of 
10 dollars having been iinpo.-ed on every slave imported 
into the United States. The following whs the clause 
from the Constitution: — 

Sec. IX. The migration or importaiion of such persons 
fis any of the states now existing shall think [iroper to ad- 
mit, shall not be prohiliited prior to llieyearone lliousand 
eight hundred and eight, liul a lax or tluiy may be inipos- ; 
ed on such importaiion, not exceeding ten dollars for 
each [icrson. 

To sum up I\Ir. Breckinridge's last address, what, he 
would ask, had been its whole aim 1 Clearly that they 
should consider the ab(jlili(n)ists as the chief promoters of 
all the riots that had taken place in America on this ques- 
tion, by making inllamnialory appeals to the passions of 
the people. He would call upon Mr. Breckinridge again 
to lay his finger upon a single proof of this. He would 
call upon him to point to a single instance where languane 
had been used which was in any degree calculated to call 
np the blood-thirsty jiassions of the mob as had been rep- 
resented. If the planters of tlie South were roused into 
fury by the declaration of anti-slavery sentiments — if they 
were unable to hear the everlasting truths which it pro- 
mulgated, was that a sufficient reason for those to keep 
silent who felt it to be their duty at all hazards to make 
known these trullis 1 Or were they to be charged with 
raising mobs, because the people were enraged to hear 
these truths 1 As well might Paul of Tarsus have been 
charge with the mobs which rose against his life and that 
of his fellow apostles. As well might Galileo be charged 
with those persecutions wliich immured him in a dungeon. 
As well might the Apostles of truth in every age be charg- 
ed with the terrible results which ensued from the strug- 
gle of light and darkness. In conclusion, Mr. Thompson 
said that on the following evening he would take up the 
question of the Maryland Colonization scheme. 

Dr. WARDLAW announced to the meeting that the 
discussion was closed for the evening. In doing so, he 
complimented the audience on the very correct manner in 
which they had observed the rule regarding all manifesta- 
tion of applause, 'i'he attention and interest of the au- 
dience were much excited throughout the whole proceed- 
ings; indeed, at few meetings have we observed so lively 
an interest taken in the entire business of an evening, ani 
yet there was not a single instance in which the interfer- 
ence of the chairman was re()uired. On several occasions 
the rising expression of applause was at once checked by 
the general good sense of the meeting. 

The proceedings were over about ten minutes to ten 
o'clock. 



[(j^Tlie remainder of Mr. Garrison's notes upon the 
discussion between Mr. Thompson and Mr. Breckinridge 
will probably be inserted in the Appendix, as he is too 
unwell, at the present time, to prepare them to be insert- 
ed page for page, in regular course.] 



DISCUSSION 



SECOND NIGHT— TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 1836. 



Mr THOMPSOiV, before jiroceRdii!"; with the disciis- 
Fion, wmil 1 in;ike one or two preliminary oijservalions. 
L!i>t evening he ha-i been led into an error as regarded 
both number and time in speaking; of the ariiount of slaves 
in Ameriea at tiie adoption of the constitution; and he 
M-ai anxions lliat every statement made by him should be 
withont a flaw; and if there should be an error commit- 
ted, he would be the first person to admit and correct it 
wlien discovered. Ho stated that at ll>e adoption of the 
American constitution, there were only about 300,000 
slaves in the United States. There were not many more 
in 1776 when the states declared themselves independent; 
in 17''8 when the constitution was settled, there were 
more; and in 1790 there were between 600,000 and 
700,000 slaves in tlie United States of America. His 
error consisted in his subtracting 1776 from 1790, and 
savin<r 24 vears instead of 14. He mentioned this error 
toshow that he held a re^'ard to truth to be the ultimate 
entl of their discussion. There was one other preliminary 
romarU. His antagonist had repeatedly .-aid that George 
Thomnson had published himself a martyr. George 
Thomnson never did publish himself a martyr. Mr. 
Brc-.Uinridfre, in the course of his speeches last night, had 
said more of himself than he (IMr. T.) had ever done dur- 
ing alt the speeches hs had ever made on the question. 
He had only referred to himself when urgently re(|uesled 
to give an account of his perso'ial experience. He never 
had a wish to be considered a martvr. If "hen he had 
'finished his course here, if when this probationary scene 
was over, he was found to have done his duty, he would 
be fullv satisfied. He was not pharisaical enough to im.- 
ajrine that he had performed any works of supererogation. 
Mr. Breckinridge had said this was not a national ques- 
tion ; tliat slavery in America was not American slavery; 
that it was not a national evil ; that it was not a national 
sin ; that it was merely a question between the State Leg- 
islatures and the slave-owners. He (.Mr. T.) had said 
last nigbt that slavery in America was a national sin, and 
he would now adduce the reasons for his statement: — 
First. The American people had admitted the slave states 
into the nnion ; and by consenting to admit these states 
into the confederacy, aUhongh th-re were in them hun- 
dreds of thousands" in a state of slavery, they took the 
slaves under the government of the United States, and 
made the sin national. Second— For 20 years alter the 
adoption of their constitution, and bv virtue of that very 
instrument, the United States permitted thp horrid, un- 
christian, diabolical African slave trade. Third— 1 han 
the capital of the United States of America, there was not 
one spot in the whole world which was more defiled by 
slavery; and considering the professions and privileges of 
the people, there was not a more anti-christian traffic on 
the face of the earth. Fourth— Each of the fetates is 
bound by the Constitution to give up all run-away slaves ; 
50 that the poor wretched tortured slave might be pursued 
from Baltimore to Pennsylrania. from thence to New Jer- 
sey and New York, and dragged even from the confines of 
Canada a fugitive and a felon, back into the slavery from 
whence he had fled. He might be taken from the capital ; 
frouf the very horns of the altar, to be subjected by a 
ijrue! kidoapper to the most horrid of human sufferings. 
It is not a national question ! When the north violates the 
ff>w of God— when it tramples on tho Decalogue— when 



it defies Jehovah ! what was a stronger injunction in the 
law of Moses than that tile Israelites should protect the 
run-away slave 1 But in .Vmerica, every state was bound 
by law to give up the slave to his slave master, to his ruth- 
less pursuer; and yet it must not be called a national ques- 
tion ! Fifth — the citizens of the f\ee states were bound ^ 
to go soutii to put down any insurrection among the slaves. 
They were bound and pledged to do tliis when reiiuired. 
Thevouth of Pennsylvania had pledged themselves to go 
to the Southern states to annihilate the blacks in case they 
asserted their right — the right of every human being— to 
be free. So also was it in i\l-w York and in the other free ,. 
states, and yet we are to be told that slavery is not a na- 
tional question ! The whole Uni(m was i)ound to crush 
the slave, who, standing on the ashes of Wa.shington, said, 
he ought to be, and would be free. Yes, northern bay()- 
nets would give that slave a speedy manumission from his 
galling yoke, by sending him in his gore, where the wick- 
ed cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. Yet 
it is not a national question ! Sixth — The north is taxed 
to keep up troops in the south to overawe and terrify the 
slave; and yet it is not a national question ! Seventh — Mr. 
Breckinridge has shown in a letter publishecl by him that 
the Congress has power to i)ut an end to the internal slave 
trade, and yet this trade goes on in America. Mr. B. 
well knows" that at le.ast 100,000 human beings — slaves, 
change hands annually; he must have seen the slaves driv- 
en in^'couples through his own beloved state, to be sold like 
cattle at Washington and Alexandria; he knows that 
thousands of Virginia and Maryland slaves are sold at 
New Orleans yearly, and yet he tells us that slavery is not 
a national question. Eighth— How did they admit Mis.souri 
into the union with slaves 1 Were they southern voteg 
which admitted it '? No ! but they were the votes of rec- 
reant New Englanders, false to the principles of freedom, 
who sold the honor of their country, and with it the liber- 
ty of thousands of human beings in Missouri — or at least, j 
consented to their bondage. And yet it is not a national ' 
question ! He (Mr. T.) would last refer to the reniarka ■* 
of a constitutional lawyer who was able, eloquent, sincere, 
and high minded. Mr. T. then read the following extract : — 

' Such thoughts (referring to the judgments to be ex- 
pected) habitually croud upon me when 1 coulemjilale 
iliose great personal aad NATIONAL evils, from which 
th« system of operations (viz., the movements oftlie Col- 
onization Society) which I stand here to advocate, seems ^, 
to otTer us some prospect of deliverance.' 

' From that day (1698) till the present , there have flour- 
ished in our country, men of large and just views, who 
have not ceased to" pour over this subject a stream of 
clear and noble truth, and to importune their country, by 
every motive of duly and advantage, to wipe from her 
escutcheon, the stain of human tears. 

' It is generally known, that the original members of 
the American Colonization Society anticipated, that at 
some future period, the general Government, and some, 
if not all the State Governments, would co-operate in 
their exertions for the removal of an evil which was ob- 
viously NATIONAL in all its aspects.' 

Now who was the writer from whom he had quoted 1 — 
His friend Mr. Breckinridge. This was his final reason. 
If Mr. Breckinridge's argument survived these reasons, 
it would have a life like that of a cat, which is said to 



Second Night — Tuesday — Mr. Thomi)son. 



23 



have nine lives; for lliey were nine fatal liiiiists at lii^ po- 
sition, that slavery in America was not American slavery. 
Mr. H. admits the exislenre of slavery, but la\s no blame 
cither in (his i|iiarler '.r in that; he does not lay it on the 
states, nor on iheg-.iieral Govei iinient. slavery does cx- 
i.-t in Ameiica, but — mlerniinably, but but, — eomieg as 
these bnts liid from a temperance country, he womlercd 
much that they had escaped being slaved. Slavery exists 
in America, but it is not a national question ! There are 
upwards of two millions and a half of slaves in the Uni- 
ted Stales of Aiucrica, and of these at least one lumdred 
thousand changed hands annually, thus sundering' wilhout 
remorse the tenilerest ties of human nature ; at \vhose door 
then lay the guilt of this sin ? To whom were the people 
of this country to address their warnings— over whose 
transgressions were they to mourn — whose hearts were 
they to endeavor to huniani/e and moll)l\ — where were the 
responsible and guilty parties to be lound — how are we to 
get access to their consciences on behalf of the slave '? 
Sir. Breckinridge says the system is one ui ' clear robbe- 
ry,' ' universal cnncid)inage '— ' unmiligated wicUedness ' 
— and vet it is not to be immediately abolished ! If il be 
clear robbery — if it be universal concubinage — if it be un- 
initig;Ued wicUedness— let ihc horrid system imrnedialely 
and totally and eternally cease — a worse system it was im- 
possible to have, if ihese were the evils it entaded. Mr. 
13. triumphantly makes out my caee for immediate and 
complete emancipation. The duty is plain and indispen- 
sable. Mr. 15reckinridge says the abolitionists are the 
most despicable and odious men on the face of the earlh. 
Those who love liberty are always odious in the eyes of 
tyrants. The lovers of things as they are, of corruption, 
of despotism, men who look at every thing from beneath 
the aprons of their grandmothers, invariably regard as in- 
sulTerably odious, all who are lovers of reformation and 
liberty. This always has been, and always will be the 
case. As it was said in the service of the church of Eng- 
land, it might be said on this suliject, ' As it was i.i the 
beginning, is now, and ever shall be,' if not ' world with- 
out end,' at least to the end of this world. On the 6th 
day of January, 1S31, Mr. Breckinridge delivered in 
Frankfort, Kentucky, an able address in favor of the Colo- 
nization Society. In that adilress Mr. B. stated that the 
Society was established on the 21st day of Dec. 1816, and 
was of Course, at the time of his speech, 14 years and six- 
teen days old. Mr. Breckinridge said the legislatures of 
11 states of ihe Union had recommended this society to 
Congress; that the ecclesiastical tribunals of all the lead- 
ing secis of Christians in America had testified their ap- 
probation of its principles; and yet there weie after 14 
years and 16 days, wilh all this support, and high patron- 
age in church ajid state, only 160 auxiliary societies exist- 
ing throughout lliG Union. Now as to the contemptible 
an 1 odious abolilionisis ! as they were called by the gen- 
tleman who difi'ere<l from him. The national society for 
the immediate abolition of American slavery, "as lormed 
on the Gill of December, 183J ; and on the 12th of May, 
1335, when the anniversary was held — without being rec- 
ommended to Congress by any of the stale legislatures — 
withnit ;i testimony of approbation from any of the eccle- 
si.istical tribunals — being only one year and six months old 
— how many auxiliary scjcleties were comiected with this 
abolition oiganization ] Two hundred and twenty four. 
That was the number then on the books of the society; 
and the Secretary said the whole of them were not insert- 
ed from the want of proper returns. In a letter addressed 
to him (Mr. T.) !)y the secretary of the American Aiiti- 
Slavcry Society, dated iVew York, 31st March, 1836, were 
the following words. 

' Never wotp Societies forming in nil parts of ourrnun- 
liy with groaier rapidity. Al tills moment we have 4.50 
on our list, niul doubiless there are 500 in oxisience. We 
have at this time eleven Agetils in the field, all good men 
and true, and nil fast gaining couvcris.' 



And yet the aliolllloiiists are a handful ! The one so- 
ciety in 14 sears and 16 days having 16U auxiliaries; tlio 
other in two years and three months, having without tho 
siipporl of slate legislatun-s or of (•ccle-iastical tilbiinals, 
not fewer than ."-00; and yet the aboliti<iiilsls are a hand- 
ful. Me (.Mr. T.) held in his hand a list <d' lieligates lo 
tlu! New L'".iigland Coinenliou whi(h was held in lli<^ Cily 
of Boston on the 2jtli of May, 1835. In that list hu 
found 281 geiitleineu, who, attheirown ex|;<Ml^e, had come 
from all parts of New England, lo atlend ihat coineiiiion. 
On the 27th May, it was staled that the iMas.-aehurells So- 
ciety was ill want of Umds, and a comuiilUe was ;i| puiiil- 
ed lo C(dle<t subscrlplioiis. 'I'hat commillce in |i i-s llian 
an hour obtained 1800 ilollars, and on the follipwli g <lay 
4,000 dollars, for the American Society. In New V'ork 
at the anniversary ihere had been collei ted 14,500 dollars 
— and yet the al.'olilioiiisis were a handful. 'I'hc Ameri- 
can Society at its Anniversary, had collected a largc^rsum 
than was collected by all the other pociclies together dur- 
ing ih(! week set apart for the purpose ; and in Boston 
COOO didlars had been collected in two days; whilst in 
two mcniths a friend of Mr. B's. viz. i\lr. Guiley, had only 
been ablo to collect in the same city about COO dollars for 
the Colonization Society. By their fruits ye shall know 
them; do mon gather grapes of thorns, or tigs of thistles 1 
You may send to New England any foreigner you please — 
but he must show his cause to be sound and pracvicable be- 
fore he can drnw a dollar or a cent from a New England- 
er, who gels his bread by early rising iind laborious atten- 
tion lo business — yet 6000 dollars were collected in two 
days. But the abolitionists arc a mere handtui ! Yes — 
they may be a handful, but they are most precious and mul- 
tiplying seed. Mr. B. said that many of the slave ownerd 
were doing all they could for the emancipation of the 
slaves; whether they were doing any thing or nothing, we 
find New Englanders had endeavoied to retrieve the hon- 
or of their country, by a subscription fi^ir Enianei|)atioii of 
6000 dollars in two da\s — and yet it was said, they were 
an oilious handful ? When he saw the Colonization So- 
ciety like a Juggernaut, endeavoring to crush the bodies 
and spirits of colored men and colored women, he would 
league himself with the despiseil and ■ odious handful,' and 
labor with them, and for them, till by the blessing of God, 
on their exertums, the slaves were elevated to the condi- 
tion and dignity of intelligent and intellectual beings, ftlr. 
T. would give another proof that the abolitionists were a 
handful of most odious creatures. He would refer to the 
New York Convention. Mr. B. knows well that the pro- 
slavery prints pointed forward to the New York Conven- 
tion in October last, as likely to be a scene of blood. Not 
rendered so by the abolitionists, f<;r they were men of 
peac(!,1jut by the fury of their opponents. Notwithslantl- 
ing, there were €00 delegates assembled in Utica, at 9 
o'clock, on the first day ; and when they were driven from 
Ihat city by a mob, headed by the Hon. I\Jr. Beardsley, 
a member of Congress, and by the Hon^ Mr. llaydon. 
Judge of the county — and tho greater part of them went 
to I'eterboro', these COO were joined by other 40O, mak- 
ing 1000 delegates, for one state — and yet they were n 
mere hamlful. He would next refer to the Rhode Island 
Convention, at which, though held in tlu; smallest slate in 
tho Union; in the detilh of winter; and at a lime when 
many o( the roads were impassable through a heavy fall of 
show, -100 delegates attended, and 2000 dollars were col- 
lected — but yet llie abolitionists were a mere handful ! 
Gcrrit Smith had said that there was an accession lo the 
Anti-Slavery Societies, in the state of New York alone, 
of 500 weekly, among whom he says there is not known 
one intemperate or profane person ; — ijOO weekly added lo 
one State Society— yet tlii-y are a mere handful! If thojr 
go on increasing at this rate in New York, Ohio, Penn- 
sylvania, anil throughout New England, they will not long 
be a small handful. Besides many of those who were 
formerly on the side of colonization, have now come over 
to the ranks of tho abolitionisls. Where are now the 



24 



Second Kight — Tuesday — 3Ir. Breckinridge. 



Smiths, ami Biinrys, nnf] Jay.', anil Coxes, ihat once were 
the pluqiient and nuinificent ailvocate.s an, I patrons of the 
Colonization iSociety ] l^hey are now, with all their souls 
nnd energies, on the si;le of iiinnediate aholilion. Nor 
these alone. He might — he ought to name snch men as 
President Green, and Professors Wright, Bush, Follen, 
Smyth and Greg^. He ought to speak of a Leavitt in 
New York, a Kirk in All)any, a Beinan in Troy, a Weld 
in Ohio, a Garrison in New England; and of a Mrs. 
Child, a Mm. Chapman, a John G. Whiltier, a May, a 
Dickenson, a Phelps, a Goodell, a Bourne, a Lundy, a 
Loring, a Sewall, and a host of others. All these men 
esteemed it their joy and honor to he amongst the must 
odious of the contemptible handful referred to. These 
were men of mind, of piety, of intluence, of energy, men 
not to be deterred from doing tlieir duty by the harsh music 
of the birds of ill omen from the Upas Tree of Slavery, 
who sent forth their croakings, by night and by day, to 
scare the nation from its indispensable work of Justice and 
Truth — and yet these men are odious and contemptible ! 
Your agent too is contemptible — he was the agent of tlie 
* goodies ' of Glasgow — and — his fair auditors could scarce- 
ly believe what epithets were lavishly Iwstowedon him and 
iheni — yet their agent, contemptible as he was, was per- 
haps the only Englishman who had ever been honored as 
he had been'by the President of the United States of Ame- 
vica. He who was so conlemptil)le in the eyes of the 
Americans — who was a most impetuous, and untameable, 
and worthless animal — who was the representative of the 
' goodies ' and superannuated maids and matrons of Glas- 
gow — was honored by a notice and a rebuke in the mes- 
sage to Congress of the President of the United States! 
This looked much like being insignificant ariil contempti- 
ble ! He did not seek the honor which had been thus con- 
ferred upon him — it came upon him unaware, but he had 
not therefore refused it. It was an honor to be persecuted 
in tlie United States with the abolitionists of 1836. And 
when their children, and their children's children, looked 
back upon these persecutions, they would exult and be 
proud to say they were the sons, the grandsons, or the 
great grandsons of the Coxes, the Jays, the (larrisons, the 
Tappans, and the Thompsons of England and America. 
After alluding to the treatment he had experienced from 
the New York Covn-ier and Enquirer, Mr. T. said — let us 
bear these honors meekly — when calumniated for truth's 
sake, let us lie humble, while we are joyful. One word 
more as to the odious handful. Seven eigluhs of the Me- 
thodist Episcopal Ministers in the New Hampshire Con- 
ference, and seven-eighths of the New England Conference 
were Abolitionists. The Students of the Colleges and In- 
stitutions, academical and theological, of the country, 
known by the names of Lane Seminary, Oberlin Institute, 
Western Reserve College, Oneida Institute, Waterville 
College, Brunswick College, Amherst College, and the 
.Seminaries of AnJover, were many of them in some, and 
:i!l of them in others. Abolitionists; and yet, when all 
these Societies, and Ministers, and men of learning, and 
Students were put together, they were, in their aggregate 
capacity, but an odious and most contemptible handful ! 
He would now proceed to speak of the Maryland scheme 
— a scheme of obvious wickedness. When l\lr. B. caine 
to Boston to advocate that scheme, he says a placard was 
published, calling on the rabble to mob him. This placard 
lie attributes to Mr. Garrison and the abolitionists, as he 
says it was of the same si/.e and appearance, as the type 
and columns of the Liiierator newspaper, and that there- 
fore Mr. Garrison was the publisher. This Uv. (Mr. T.) 
most pointedly, and distinctly, and solemnly denied, and 
challenged .Mr. B. to the proof. Did Mr. B. Avtw the 
^)lacard ! No. Did he demonstrate its identity with Mr. 
Garrison's pa|)er 1 No. He had not done so. To make 
Mr. Garrison the anihor or publisher of .«iich a placard, 
was to publish him a coward and a villain, for he who 
«ould point out any man, still more a cliri=tian minislerj to 



the fury of a mob, was a moral monster, a coward, and a 
villain. He called on Mr. B. by his regard for truth and 
justice, and his reputation as a minister of Christ, to ad- 
duce the |)roofs necessary to sustain so grave an accusa- 
tion, and he (.\Ir. T.) pledged himself to cast off the dear- 
est friend he had, if a crime so base could be fixed on him. 
To return to the Maryland scheme. In the month of July 
or -August, 1831, Boston was visited by his respected oppo- 
nent, his brother Dr. J. Breckinridge, and an agent of the 
Maryland Colonization Society, and a meeting was con- 
vened to enable those gentlemen to set forth and recom- 
mend the scheme of thai Society, in aid of which the 
legislature of Marvland had made an appropriation of 
200,000 dollars. He (Mr. T.) was fully prepared to show 
that the object of the society was to get rid of the free 
colored population, and that according to tlieir design the 
state legislature had, in immediate connection with the 
grant of money, pa.ssed most rigorous and cruel laws. <' 
The Colonization Society was the net cast for the colored 
I)er)ple — the laws of the state were the menn.s devised to 
drive the dc\oted victims into its meshes. This was call- 
ed helping ;hein out of the country with their free con- 
sent. He {Mr. T.) would bring forward abundant proofs 
when he next addressed them — he would then read the 
laws which he could not how produce for want of time. 
IMr. Breckinridge might or might not notice these general 
charges against the Maryland scheme; but he (!\lr. T.) 
would hereafter fully support them, and show too that the 
National Colonization Society was e(|ually culpable, hav- 
ing at its ensuing annual meeting fully approved of the 
plan, and recommended it as a bright example to the iaii- 
tatioii of other states. 

M R. BRECKINRIDGE then rose. He had la.st night 
understood Mr. 'I'hompson to say, that this evening he 
would take up and expose the Colonization scheme. It 
was possible that he had been wrong in this; but such 
was certainly the impression made upon his mind. In- 
stead of adopting such a course, however, Mr. Thompson 
had treated them to a second edition of his last night's 
speech, the only difference being that the one they had 
just heard was more elaborate. If they were to be call- 
ed on to hear all Mr. Thompson's speeches twice, it would 
be a considerable time before they finished the discussion. 
He congratulated Mr. Thompson on his second edition, 
being, in some respects, an improvement on hia first. It 
was certainly better arranged. In the observations he 
was now about to make, he would follow the course of 
the argument exhibited in Mr. Thompson's two speeches; 
but he, at the same time, wished it to ba understood that 
he would not be cast out of the line of liiscussion every 
night in the same manner. As to what had been said 
about ' the handful,' he did not think it necessary to say 
much. He would simply remind Mr. T. that however 
great or however small ' the handful ' might be, one per- 
vading evil might pollute it all. A dead fly could cause 
the ointment of the a|)othecary to stink. But to come to 
the point. Mr. Thompson had said that the question was 
national as it respected America, because slaveholding 
states had been admitted into the confederacy. The sim- 
ple fact of these States having been admitted raendjers of 
the Union, was, in Mr. TlKJinpson's estimation, proof suf- 
ficient, not only that slavery was chargeable on the whole 
nation, but that there had been a |)ositivc predilection 
among the American people in favor of slavery. In clear- 
ing up this point, a little (dirono logical knowledge would 
help us. He would therefore call the atlention of the au- 
dience to the real state of matters when the confederacy 
was established. At that period, Massachusetts was the 
onlv State in which .'slavery had been abolished; and even 
in Mas.-^acliusetts, its formal abolition was not efiected nil 
some time after. For in that State it came to an end in 
consequence of a clause inserted in the Constitution it.self 
— tanlamouut to' the one in our declaration of indcpcn- 



Second Night — Tuesday — Mr. Brechinridge. 



dence, tliat froodom is a natural am) iiuilionnliln right. 
ISiu'cj'ssive judicial (lecipidiis, upon this clausp, without 
any special le<rislatioi), iiad al>()li.<hcd slavery there; .-io that 
the exaet period of its actual teruiiiiatioii is Dot easdy de- 
niieal>le. 'I'his rt calls another point on which Mr. Thomp- 
son would have been tile hetier of possesfinga lillle chron- 
ological informatioii. He h.ul repeatedly state<l that the 
American Con.stilvUion was louiiiled on the principle that all 
men were created free and etiual. Now tlii.s wa.s not so. 
The principle was, no douht, a just oni?; it was asserted 
most fully hy the Continental Conf,'re«s of 1776, and might 
lie said to lorm the basis of our Declaration u\' Indepen- 
dence. Bur it was not contained ill the .Ameriran Con- 
stitution, which was formed 12 years afterwards. That 
Constitution was formed in accordance with the circmn- 
slances in which the diflcrent States were placed. Its 
chief object was to guard against external injury, and reg- 
ulate external artairs; it interfered as little as possible 
with the internal regulations of each State. The Ameri- 
can was a Federative system of Government; twenty-four 
distinct Kepublics were united for certain purposes, and 
for these alone. So far was the national Ciovernment from 
possessing iiiilimited powers, th;it the constitution itself 
was but a very partial grant of those, which, in their om- 
nipotence, resided, according to our theory, only in the 
people themselves iii their primary assemblies, it had 
i)een s|)ecially agreed in the constitution itself, that the 
powers not delegated should be as expressly reserved, as 
if excepted bv name; and, amongst the chief subjects, ex- 
clusively interior, and not delegated, and so reserved, is 
Slavery. Had this not been the case, the confederacy 
could have been I'orined. It had been said that the Amer- 
ican constitution had not only tolerated slavery, but that it 
had actually guaranteed the slave trade for twenty year?. 
rSothing could be more uncandid than this statement. 
Never had facts been more perverted. One of the causes 
of the American revolution, had been the refusal of the 
British King to sanction certain arrangements on which 
some of the states wished to enter, for the abolition of the 
slave traile. At the formation of the Federal constitution, 
while slavery was excluded from the control of Congress, 
as a purely state affair, the slave trade was deemed a fit 
subject, by the majority for the executors of national pow- 
er, as being an exterior affair. .And at a period prior to 
the \nry commencement of that great plan of individual 
effort, guided by ^Vilberforce and Clarkson, in Britain; 
and which required twenty years to rouse the conscience 
of this nation — our distant, an . now traduced fathers, had 
already made up their minds, that this horrid traffic, wh'i(h 
they f.iund not only existing, but cnciiuiage<l by the whole 
power of the King, should be abolished. It was granled, 
perhaps, too readily to the claims of those who tlumglit, (as 
nearly the whole world thought) that twenty years should 
be the limit of the trade; aod at the end of that period, 
it was instantly prohiliited, as a matter of course, and by 
unanimous consent. How unjust, then, was it to charge on 
America as a crime, what was one of the brightest virtues 
in her escntchion. Mr. Thompson had next asserted, that 
slavery of t!ie most horrible description existed in the cap- 
ital of .Vmerica, and in the surrounding district, subject 
to the exclusive jurisdiction ol Congress. He (.Mr. Breck- 
im-idgc) did not hesitate to deny this. It was not true. 
Slavery did exist there; but it was not of the horrible 
charac'er which had been represented. It was well known 
that the sla-.ery existing in the United Stales was the 
mddest to be seen in any country under Heaven. Nothing 
but the most profoim 1 ignorance coul I lead any one to as- 
sert the coniiary. Mr. Thompson had a Colleague in his 
recent exhibitions in London, who seemed to have taken 
interludes in all .Mr. T.'s speeches. In one of these, that 
colleague had said, he knew of his own knowledge a case, 
ill which a man had given 500 didlars for a slave in order 
to burn him alixe ! iMr. Thom|)son no douln knew, that 
even on the supposition that such a monster was to be 
found, he was liable in every part of the United States, to 

4 



be hanged as any other innrderor. .Slavery wan bad 
enough anywhere ; but to say thai it was iii(;re unuiiligu- 
ted in America than in the West Indies, where emigra- 
tion had always been necessary to keep up the numbers, 
Vyhile in America the slave population increased (a.".ter than 
any part of the hiiinin race, was a gross exaggeration, or 
a proof of the profomidest ignorance. 'J'o say that the 
slavery of tin; Dislict til Columbia was the most horrid 
that ever existed, when it, along with the whole of the 
slavery on that continent, was so hedged about by human 
laws, that is, every one of the states' cruelty to the slave 
was punished as an oftcn<-e against the state; the killing 
of a slave was punished t^vi-rywhere wiih death; while in 
all ages, and nearly in all countries where slavery has ex- 
isted !)esides, the master was not (jnly the ex(du>ive jiidga 
of the treatment of his slave, but the abs(dute disposer of 
his life, whi(di he could take away at will; these etate- 
inents can proceed only from unpanlonable ignorance, or 
a pur[)ose to mislead. As to the aboliiinn of slaverv in the 
District of Columbia, there might at first sight appear to 
l)e some grounds of accusation; but yet, when the subject 
was Considered in all its bearings, so many pregnant, i( not 
conclusive, reasons presented themselves against interfer- 
ence, that though much attention had been bestowed upon 
it for many years, the result had been that nothing was 
done. Il was to be recollected that the whole District of 
Columbia was only ten miles square; and that it was sur- 
rounded by states in which slavery was still legalized. It 
was thus clear that though slavery were abolished in Co- 
lumbia, not an individual of the COOO slaves now within 
its bounds, would necessarily be relieved of his fetters. 
Were an abolition bill to pass the House of Representa- 
tives to-day, the whole 6000 could be removed to a neigh- 
boring slave state before it could be taken up in the Sen- 
ate to-morrow. It was, therefore, worse than idle to say 
so much on what could never be a practical question. 
Again; the District of Columbia had been ceded to the 
general government by Maryland and Virginia, both .slave- 
holding states, for national purposes; but this never would 
have been done had it been contemplated that Congress 
would abolish slavery within its bounds, and thus establish 
a nucleus of anti-slavery agitation in the heart of their ter- 
ritory. The exercise of such a power, tlieref ire, on the 
part of Congress could he viewed in no other light than as 
a gross fraud on those two states. It should never be for- 
gotten that slavery can be abolished in any part of Amer- 
ica only by the persuasive power of truth voluntarily sub- 
mitted to the slaveholders themselves. And though much 
is said in that country, and still more here, about the 
criminality of the northern states in not declaring that they 
would not aid in the suppression of a .ser\ile war, such de- 
clamation is worse than idle. But there is a frightful 
incauiDg in this unmeasured abuse heaped by Mr. 'i'hoinp- 
soii on the people of the free states, fir their expressions of 
<lcvotioii to the Union and the Constitution, and their de- 
termination to aid, if necessary, in suppressing by force — 
all force used by, or on bdialf of, the slaves. Is it then 
true that .Mr. Tliomp.son and his American tiiends did con- 
template a servile war \ M not, why denounce the north 
for saying it should be suppressed 1 Were the people "f 
America right when thev charged him and his co-workers 
with stirring up insurrection 1 If not, why lavi:-li every 
epithet of contempt and abhorrence upon tho«c who have 
declared their readiness to put a stop to 'de indiscrimi- 
nate slaughter and pillage of a region as large as western 
Kiirope ! Such speeches as that » "ave this night heard 
go far to warrant all that has e'-^r been sai I wgaiiist this 
individual in America, ant f< excuse th se \\h . consider- 
ed him a general disturUi' of their peace, and wer^ dis- 
posed to proceed against him accniiiMgly. It was how- 
ever the opinion »( manv th.it Congress had no power tu 
abolish slavery in the District of Cdmnhia. Mr. B said 
his opinion was dilierent; yet it must be admitted that 
the obstacles to the exercise of this power were of the 
most serious kind, and such a?, to a candid mind, would 



26 



Second 



Night- 



■ Tuesday- — Mr. BrecJcinridge. 



free those who liesitated, from the cltarge of Ijeing (jro- 
elaveiy men. Perhaps the great reason against tlie exer- 
cise of that power, even if its existence in Congress were 
clear, was that it wcjiild inevitably piuiUice a dissolution of 
the Union. VVIieii he *poke of "the free states i)ringing 
about the al)olition of slavery in the south, lie was to be 
understood as meaning that these states, in accordance 
with what had been so often liinted at, sitould march to 
the south with arms in (lieir hands, and declare the s-laves 
free. Now, even supposing that the people of the north 
had no regard for the peace of their country — that they 
were perfectly indifferent to the glory, the power, and the 
happiness resuliuig from the Federal Union — was it cer- 
tain, that by adopting such a course, they wouKi really 
advance the welfare of the slave ? Every candid man 
would at once see that the condiiion ol the slave jjopula- 
tion would be made more hopeless than ever by it. The 
fourth proof brought forward by Mr. Thompson, in sup- 
port of his proposition that America was chargeable in a 
national point of view with the guilt of slavery, was the 
fact that the different states were bound to restore all run- 
away slaves. 13ut this was a regulation wliich applied to 
the case of all servants who leavi; their masters in an im- 
proper manner. Apprentices, childieii, even wives, if it 
might be supposed tiiat a wife would ever leave her hus- 
band, were to be re.Niored as well as the slaves. Were 
this not provided, llu; different stales would form to each 
other the most horrible neighborhood that could be iinag- 
iiied. No state is expected to say that any man is of 
right, or should be ' held to .service ' of any kind, in an- 
other state ; for such are the words of tlie constitution. 
But the purely internal arrangements of each state, mus'. 
necessarily be respected by all the others; or eternal bor- 
der wars must be the result. In the re-de!ivery of a run- 
away slave, or apprentice, therefore, the court of the one 
state is only reciuircd to say what are the laws, and the fact 
of die other slate from which the claimant comes, and to 
decide a xordingly. A;i.l when Mr. V. savs that this pro- 
ceeding is not only contrary to the spirit of* the gospel, but 
to t\u: express coMiinaud of God under the Jewish dispen- 
sation, 1 need only defend the practice, by (luestioniii" his 
biblical capacities, and referring for explanation to his 
second printed speecli before the Glasgow Emancipation 
Society. In that, he states a fictitious case as rcaiils 
Irel.in I — resc.iibling remarkably the case recorded in Hidy 
writ, of Egypt till ler the government of Joseph; an I while 
iill men have thought liial Joseph came from God, and was 
peculiaily appro\eil of liiin — ilv. T. has represciiteil, that 
he who shi.iill do in Iicland, very much what Joseph did 
ill Egyot, could be considered as I'oming only ' fro.n Ame- 
rica, or Irom the boltomless pit !!!' As long as the Holy 
Ghost gives men reason to consider certain principles right, 
they may be well content to abide under ih.; svralh ol' i\ir. 
Thompson. iMr. 'i'hompson said, in the fifth place, that 
slavery was a national crime, because the stales were all 
bouiiil t ) a>sist eacli oilier, in supiircssing iiuenial insur- 
rection. To this he will answer, ihul as it regarded the 
duty of the nation to the several states, there were two, 
iind but two great guarantees, namely, tiie pres.^rvalio!) of 
• riternal peace, tiiid the upli ddmg of republican institu- 
tions : traiiqui itv and repiibli<-a'.iism. Carolina was as 
much t.ound to assist Rhode Island as Khodu Island was 
to assist vJunjIina. .All were imitually bound to each oth- 
er; and if tlimirs went on as of late, the south were as 
likely ti) be c.iIIb,> .,„ to suppress mobs at ihe north, as tlie 
north to suppress insivicction at the south. It was next 
advanced by iVlr. T. iKu the people of the North were 
taxed for the support of slat<.iy. I\ow the fact was, that 
Ami-rica presented the exlraonUuary spectaci* id' a nation 
free of I ixes i:!tiigeihcr; free of Jblot, with an overtiow- 
ing ir;;....,0A, w ;li to iiuudi money iii.leed that ihey did 
not well kii.,w w.uii to do with it. It whs almost need- 
less to explain that the American revenue was at ))resent, 
and had been for many years jiast, derived solely from the 
•ale of public lands, and from the ctsstoms or duties levied 



on imported articles of various kinds. The payment of 
ihcfe duties was entirely a voluntary tax, as inorder to 
avoid it, it was only necessary to refrain from the use of 
the articles on which they vv'eie imposed. As for Mr. 
T.'s argument about the standing army employed in keep- 
ing tlown the slaves, its value might be judged from the 
fact that, though even accm-ding to Mr. T.'s own show- 
ing, the slave population amounted to two and a half mil- 
lions, the army was composed of only COOO men, scattered 
along three froiilieis extending 2000 miles each. Through- 
out the whole slaveholding states there were not probably 
ICOO siddiers. The charge was, in fact, complete hum- 
bug, founded just upon nothing at all. Mr. I'hompson's 
seventh cnarge was, that Congress refused to suppress the 
internal slave trade. This was easily answered. There 
was in America not one individual "among 500 who be- 
lieved that Congress had the power to do so. And al- 
though he (Mr. B.) believed that Congress had power to 
prevent the migration of slaves from state to state, as 
fully as they had to prevent the importation of them into 
the slates from foreign countries; and that the exercise of 
this power would prevent, in a great degree, the Iriide in 
slaves from state to state, yet very few concurred willi him 
even in this modified view of the case. And it must be 
tulmitted that the exercise of such a power, if it really 
exists, would be attended with such results of unmixed 
evil at this time, ihat no one whatever would deem it prop- 
er to attempt, or possible to eni'urce its exercise. It was 
next said that as Missouri, a slaveholding stale, had been 
admitted into the Union after the full consideration ol the 
subject by Congres."!, therefore the nation had become 
identified with slavery and responsible (uv its existence, at 
least in Missouri But on the supposilioii that, before re- 
ceiving ftlissiiuri as a member of the confederacy, it had 
been demanded of hei that she should abolish slavery; 
and supposing iMissouri had acceded to the terms propos- 
ed, thai she had really given her slaves freedom, and been 
added to the Federal Liiion in conse(iuence: suppose ftlis- 
souri had done all this; what was there to prevent her 
Irom re-establishing slavery as soon as the end she sought 
was gained. No power was possessed by the other states 
in the mailer, and all that could have been said was, that 
Missouri had acted with bad lailh — that she had broken .-x 
condition precedent — tlnit shghad given just cause of war. 
Acco.ding to the. most latitudinarian notions, this vuis the 
extent of the remedy in the hands of Congress. But Mr. 
Thompson, being a holder of peace principles— if we may 
judge by his published speeches — must admit it to be as' 
really a sin to kill, as to enslave men; so that, in his own 
showing, this argument amounts to nothing. But when it 
is coiisiilered that every -slate in the American Uiikiii haa 
the rLCognised right to alter its constitution, ulicii ami 
hu\v it may think fit, saving only that it be Republican; 
it is most manifest ihat Congress and the other states 
have, and could have in no case, any more power oi- right 
to prevent Missouri's continuing, or creating slaver) ,. than 
they had to prevent Massacbiisells from abolishing it. 
But, if we were to stand upon the mere rights of war, he 
(iMr. B ) did not know but that America "had just cause 
of war against Britain, according to the received nntions 
on that .^abject, in the speeches delivered by Mr. Thomp- 
son under the connivance of the authorities here. But the 
causes id" war were very different in the opinions of men 
and in ihe eye ol God. If Mr. Thompson was right in 
condeining America for the guilt <d' Misioi-.ri, then llicy 
sliouldgo to war at once and settle the tpiistion. But, if 
they were not ready for that conclusion, they could do 
nothing. Ill the edition of Mr. Thompson's sjeecli which 
had been delivered on the preceding evening, an argu- 
ment had been adduced which was ouiilted in the preseiil. 
The argument to which lie referred, was concerning tlie 
light of the tlaves to be represei)te<l. A sight considera- 
tion of the subject might have shown that ihe whole [low- 
er over the subject of citizenship in each slate, was e.xclu- 
sive of the state itself, and was differently regulated in 



Second Nighi- 



■Tiiesday — Mr. Thompson. 



27 



different stnto?. In sonic, tlie elective franchise was given 
to nil who liad attained the a^e of twenlv one. In Konie, 
il was made to ile|)eii(l oi\ ilie posscs.Jion of pcrsmial prop- 
erty ; and in otiier.-j, of real property. Tlial in llic snutli- 
crn stales the powei of votinjf t^hoidil he given to the mas- 
ters and not (o tlie flaxes, was not ealcid.iteil to exeile 
surprise in Britain, where such a larn;e proportion of the 
population, ami that in a nuniher of instances composed of 
men of liif^h inteHiffence, were not ejilitled to thi' elective 
franchise. Tin; origin of this arrangement, like many 
others, involved in om- social system was a compromise of 
apparently eonliicling interests in the slates which were 
engaged in forming the federal constitution. The identity 
of taxation and representation, was the grand idea on 
which the nation went into the war of independence. 
When it was agreed that ail white (citizens, and tliree- 
fonnlis of all other persons, as the constitution expresses 
it, should be represented, it followed, of course, that they 
should be subject to taxation. Or, if it were first agreed 
that they should be taxed, — it ftdlowed as certainly they 
should l)e represented. \\\w should actually cast the 
votes, was of necessity left to be iletermined by the States 
themselves, and as has been said was variously determin- 
ed ; many permitting free negroes, iiidians and mulattos, 
who are all embraced as welt as slaves, to vote — That 
three filths instead of any other pari, or the whole shoidd 
be agreed on was no doubt the result of reasons wliich ap- 
peared con(dusiye to the wise and benevolent men who 
made the constitution; but I am not able to tell what they 
were. It must, however, be very clear, that to accuse my 
country in one breath, for treating the negroes, brmd and 
free, as if they were not human beings at all, — and to ac- 
cuse her in the next of fostering and encouraging slavery, 
for allowing so large a proportion of the blacks to be a 
part of the basis of national representation in hU the 
states, and then in the third, because the whole are not so 
treated, to be more abusive than ever — is merely to show 
plainly, how earnestly an occasion is sought to traduce 
America, and how hard it is to find one. He came now 
to the last charge. He himself, it seems, had admitted on 
former occasions that slavery was a national evil. He 
certainly did believe that the people of America, whether 
anti-slavery or pro-slavery, would be happier and better, 
in conscience and feelings, were slavery abolished. He 
bdieved that every interest would be benefitted by such an 
event, whether political, moral, or social. The existence 
of slavery was one of the greatest evils of the world, but 
it was not the crime of all the world. Though, therefore, 
fie considered slavery a national evil, it was not to be in- 
ferred that he viewed it as a national crime. The cogen- 
cy of such an argument was equal to the candor of the ci- 
tation on which it was founded. He would now come to 
matters rather more personal. In enumerating the great 
Tiumberg of anti-slavery societies in America, i\Ir. Thomp- 
son had paraded one as formed in Kentucky, for the whole 
state. Now, he would venture to .say that tliere were not 
ten persons in that whole state, holding anti-slavery prin- 
ciples, in the Garrison sense of the word. If this was to 
be judged a fair specimen of the hundreds of societies 
boasted of by Mr. Thompson, there would turn out but a 
beggarly account of them. He found also the name of 
.Groton, Massachusetts, as the location of one of the So- 
cieties in the boasted list. He had once preached, and 
spoken on the subject of slavery, in that sweet little vil- 
lage, and been struck with the scene of peace and happi- 
ness which it presented. He afterwards met the clergy- 
man of that village in the City of Baltimore, and asked 
him what had caused him to leave the field of his labors. 
The clergyman answered that the anti-slavery people had 
invaded his peaceful village, and tran.«lbrmed it into such 
a scene of strife that he preferred to leave it. And so it 
was. The pestilence, which, like a storm of five and 
brimstone from hell, always followed the track of aboli- 
tionism, had overtaken many a peaceful village, and driv- 



en its pastor to seek elsewhere a field not yet blasted by it. 
He wiuild conclu le by remaiking, that Mr. Thompson, 
and he (Mr. B.) were now speaking, as it were, in the 
face of two W(mI Is, for western I'.urope was the wiild to 
America. .\\A it was for F.ugland to kniw — ihai the 
opinion of Aiucrica — that Americ;i which aheatlv coifaiu- 
ed a larger reading population than thf whole of Britain 
— was as impoiiant t'l her, as her's r ,n\ I b'- to ns. What 
he hail said of Mr. Garrison and of Ml W. Iglit, hf had 
said; and he was ready to answer fir it in the face of f iod 
and man. But he had something else to do, he thanked 
f«od, than to go about die country cairvi'ig placards, 
ready to be produceil on all occasions. Nnr where he was 
known, was snrh a course needful, to eslaMish what he 
said. When those gentlemen shtxd I make ll eir appear- 
ance, in delence or explanation of what he had said, he 
would be the belter able to judge, — wlicth'-r it W'lild be 
proper fir liiin to lake any notii-p— imd if anv, what — of 
the defence for whicdl Mr.Thompsoii had sofiaoklv id^'dg- 
ed himself. In the meantime, he woni I sav to that gen- 
tleman himself, that his attempts at brow-beating werehi.'ft 
upon him. 

Mr. THOMPSON .«airl he should commence witli the 
end of his o|)poneiit's speeth, and notice what that gen- 
tleman had said iu regard to the charges brought bv him 
against William I, lovd Garrison and Eliznr Wright It 
appeared as if Mr. Breckiuridge expected that, because in 
his own country his character fir veracity stood high, 
tiiat therefore, he was entitled, if ha chose, to enter an an- 
semblv of twelve hundred persons in Great Britain, and 
utter the grave.st charges against certain individuals 3,000 
miles away, and when called upon, as he had been, for 
proof, that he had nothing to do but turn round and say, 
' Why, I am not bound to furnish proof; let the parties 
accused demonstrate their innocence.' This was American 
justice with a vengeance. This might he Kentucky law, 
or Lynch law, but could hardly be called justice by any 
assembly of honest and impartial persons. Such justice 
might suit the neighborhood of Vicksburg, but it would 
not recommend itself to a Scotish audience. He (Mr. 
T.) would not undertake at this time the task of justify- 
ing the men who had been calumniated. He knew theso 
gentlemen, and had no doubt that when they heard of iho 
(barges preferred against them in this country, they w"Id 
be able and ready to clear themselves before the vvorld. 
He would not say that -Mr. Breckinridge did not him«elf 
believe the allegations to be true, but he would say that 
had that gentleman possessed a knowledge of the true 
character of those he had spoken against — had he known 
them as he (Mr. T.) knew them, he would have held them 
incapable of the dark deeds alleged against them. With 
regard to Mr. B.'s remarks upon the number of the slave 
population, the amount of the troops in the United States, 
and the existence of slavery in the Districtof Columbia, 
he must say that they were nothing but special pleadings; 
that the whole was a complete specimen of what the law- 
yers termed pettyfogging. Ho *'Mr. T.) was not prepared 
to hear a minister suy that because only 1500 troops out 
of COCO were found in the southern states, that, therefore, 
the nation was not implicated — that because, if the slave- 
ry of the District was abolished, there would be no fewer 
staves in the country — that, therefore, the seat of govern- 
ment should not be cleansed from its abomination. He 
would remim' his opponent that they were discussing a 
question of principle, and that the Scriptures had declar- 
ed that he who was unjust in the least, wag unjust .ilso in 
the greatest. Mr. Breckinridge had still cautiously avoid- 
ed naming the parties in the United Slates who were r«- 
sponsil)le for tlie sin of slavery. They were told that 
neither New Hampshire nor Massachusetts, nor any other 
of the northern states were to blame; that the Govern- 
ment was not to blame, nor, had it even yet been said, that 
tbe Southern states were to blame. Stiil the as^re^Mo of 



28 



Second Night — Tuesday — Mr. Thompson. 



guilt belonjfid 9ome where ; and if the parties to whom 
reference iiad been niiule were to be exculpated, at wiiose 
door, he would ask, were the sin and t^hami; of ihe system 
to be laid. The gentleman with whom he was debating 
had repeatedly told him (Mr. T.) that he did not nnder- 
stand ' the .system.' He frankly confessed that he did not. 
It was a mystery of iniquity which he conid not pretend to 
fathom; but he thought he might add that tlie Americans 
ihem.selves, at least the Colonizationists, did not seem to 
understand it very well either, for lliey had been operaling 
for a very long time, without effecting any favorable 
change in the system. A word wiili regard to the repre- 
sentation of slaves in Congress. Mr. B. had spoken as if 
he had intended to have it understood, that the slaves were 
themselves benefitted by that representatiim — that it was a 
partial representation of the slave population by persons 
in their interest. How stood the fact ? The sla\es were 
not at all represented as men. but as things. They swell- 
ed, it was true, the number of members upon the floor of 
Congress, but that extra number only helped to rivet their 
bonds tightly upon them, being as they were, in the inter- 
est of the tyrant, and themselves slaveholders, and not in 
the interest of the slaves. What said John Quincy Adams 
in his celebrated report on the Tariff: — 

'The representnlion of the .slave population in (his 
House has. from the establishment of the Constitution of 
llie United Slates, amounted to rather more than one-tenth 
of the whole number. In the present Congress" (1833.) it 
is eouivalent to iwenly-lwo voles ; in the next Congress 
it will amount to twenty-five. 'J'his is a combined and 
concentrated power, always operating to lite support and 
exclusive favor of the slaveholding interest.' 

Here was a mighty engine in the cause of oppression. 
It was a wicked n)isrepresentation to say that the sl.ives 
were benefitted by such an arrangement. Instead of being 
a lever in their hands to aid them in the overthrow of the 
system which ^^as criisliing thoin, it was a vast addition of 
strength to the ranks of their tyrants, who went to Con- 
gress to cry down discussion, to cry up Lynch Law, and 
shout Hail Columbia. Mr Thompson then proceeded to 
give some account of the Maryland Colonization scheme. 

The first movement on the subject was in March, 1S3I, 
when Mr. Brawner submitted the following resolution to 
the Maryland Legislature, which were bv that assemblv 
adopttd. He begged particular attention both to the let- 
ter and spirit of this document, exhibiting as it did, the 
feelings of ' the good people of the state' towards the col- 
ored population : — 

Resolved. Thai the increased proportion of the frefl 
people of color m this stale, to the while population, llie 
evils growing oui of their connection and nnrestraiued as- 
sociation with the slaves, their habits and manner of ob- 
taining a subsisipiire, and their withdrawing a large por- 
tion of employment from the laboring class' of the while 
population, are sul>jects of momenlous and grave consid- 
eration to the good people of this stale. 

Resolved, That as philantiiropists and lovers of free- 
dom, we deplore the existence of slaverv amongst us, and 
would use our utniosl exenioii.s to ameliorate its condi- 
tion, yet we consider the unieslraiiied power of manu- 
mission as fraught wilh ultimate evils of a more dansT- 
ous tendency than the circumstance of slavery alone, lind 
that any act, having for its ol.jeci the mitigation of these 
joint evils, not inconsistent wiih other paramount consid- 
erations, would he worthy the attention and deliberation 
of the representatives of a free, liberal-minded and en- 
lightened people. 

Resolved, "I'hat we consider the colonization of freo 
people of color in Africa as the commencement of a sys- 
tem, bv which, if judicious encouragement be afforded, 
these evils may be measurably diminished, so that in pro- 
cess of time, the relative proportion of tho black to the 
white population, will hardly be maiter for serious and 
unpleasant com ideraiion. 



Ordered, therefore, 'I'hat a committee of five members 
be appointed by the (^hair, with instructions to report a 
lull, based as nearly as may be, upon the principles con- 
laiiie<l III the foregoing resolutions, and report the same lo 
the consideration of this house. 

Such was the first movement on the subject. At the 
next session of the legislature, Mr. Brawner presented the 
report of the Committee, some of the extracts from which 
he (Mr. T.) would read : — 

The cc>tnmitlee to whom was referred the several me- 
morials from numerous citizens of this state, upon the 
subject of llie colored population, Report, — 

'J'hat the views presented by the memorialists are va- 
rious, and ihe lecommondalions conlained in some of the 
memorials are entirely repugnant l<i those conlained in 
otiiers. The subjects, however, upon which legislative 
action is rcc(uired, may be embraced under a few general 
lienils : 

First, That a law be passed prohibiting the future 
emnncipalioii of the slaves, unless provision be made for 
their removal from the state. 

Seconilly, That a sum of money adequate for Ihe at- 
lalnnient of the object, he raised and appropriated for Ihe 
further removal of those already free. 

Thirdly, That a .system of polici- be established, regu- 
lating the futura conduct and morals of this class of our 
pofiulalion. 

And, Fourthly, There are several memorials from dif- 
ferent parts of our sinte. signed by a numerous and high- 
ly respectable portion of out citizens, recommending the 
entire abolition of slavery in the stale. 

On the 14ih of March, 1832, the State Legislature of 
Maryland appropriated for the use of the State Coloniza- 
tion Society the sum of 200,000 dollars, payable in sums 
of 20,000 dollars per annum for ten years. Having made 
the grant, the legislature next proceeded lo pass acts to 
obtain the consent of the colored population to quit the 
slate and country, and emigrate to Africa. He (Mr. T.) 
claimed special iitlention to some short extracts from those 
laws. They would reveal more powerfully than any lan- 
guage of his, the benevolent or rather atrociously cruel 
designs of the 'good people ' of the Slate. He should 
quote first from ' An Act relating to Free Negroes and 
Slaves,' passed within a few days of the grant, and part 
and parcel of the same benevolent scheme : — 

Section!. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of 
Maryland, That, after the passage of this act, no free ne- 
gro or mulatto shall emigrate lo, or settle in this State j 
and no free negro or mulatto belonging to any otherState, 
district or territory, shall come into this Stale, and there- 
in remain for the space of ten successive days, wliether 
such free negro or mulatto mlenfls setlling in this Slate or 
not, under the penally of fifty dollars for each and every 
week, such persons coming into, shall thereafter remain 
in this Slate; the one half lo ibe informer and the other 
half to the Sheriff for the use of the county, * * 
and any free negro or mulatto refusing or neglecting lo 
pay said fine or fines, shall be committed to the jail of 
tlie county ; and shall be sold by the SheriflTal public sale, 
for such time as may be necessary lo cover the aforesaid 
penally, first giving ten days previous notice of such sale. 

'Sec. 2. And be it enacted, Thai no person in this Stale, 
shall hereafter hire, employ, or harbor any free negro or 
mulatto who shall emigrate or settle in this Stale, after 
tho first day of June ne.vt, or any free nejro or mulatto 
who shall come into ihis Slate from any other State, dis- 
liict or territory, and continue in this Stale for the space 
of ten successive days as above, under the penally of 
twenty dollars for every day after the expiration of four 
days, any such free negro or mulatto *» » » 
shall be so employed, hired or harbored, and all fines ac- 
cruing under this'act **#*#* 
one half thereof to be applied to the informer, and the 



Second Night— Tuesdai/— Mr, BrQckinridgc. 



29 



olher lialf to the usn oC llie couiily ; and if any nosro or 
iiiulntlo shall reiiKne from lliis Suito and romain willioiit 
(lie limits llioreof dir a s|.ac(; ioMi^cr llinn lliirly coiisorn- 
live days, unless bcf(ire Icavinfjdie Slate he dopi.sils with 
the clerk of the roiiiity in which lie resides, a wrillen 
statement of his ol.ject in sodoiiiij. and his intcnlion of re- 
inrning a^N-iin. or unless he shall have been detained by 
sickness or coersion, of which lie shall briuffn certificate, 
he shall he regarded as a resident of anoilier Stale, an<l 
be subject, if he return, to the penalties imfiosed by the 
fore<ji)in^ provisions upon free negroes and miilallos of 
another State, mi£;rallii°: to this Stale : Provided, that 
nothing contained in this act shall prevent any free negro 
or mulatto from visitinff Liberia, and returning to the 
State whenever he may choose to do so. 

Sec. 4. .\nd be it enacted. That it shall not be lawful 
from and afier the first of June next, to import or brins; 
into this Slate by land or water, aiiv ne^ro, mulatto or 
olher slave for sale, or to reside within this Stale : * * 
and anv person or persons so oflendiriDr. shall forfeit for 
every such offence, any nepfro, mulatio or other slave 
brought into this Slate contrary to this act. and such ne- 
gro, mulatto or otiier slave, shall be entitled to freedom 
upon condition that he consent to be sent to Liberia, or to 
leave the Slate forthwith, otherwise such ne^ro or midnt- 
lo or olher slave, shall be seized and taken and confined 
ill jail by the sheriff of the coiinly where the oflTence is 
comniitled, which sheriff shall receive te>n dollars for eve- 
ry neero. mulatto, or oilier slave so brought into Ih's .Slate 
and forfeited as aforesaid, and seiied and taken bv him. 

***)»# if 

Moreover, said sheriff shall receive five dollars for such ne- 
gro, mulatto or other slave actually confined by him in 
jail, and the usual prison fee as now allowed by law. and 
any person or persons so offending- under this act, shall 
be punished by indictment in ihe county court of the coun- 
ty where the offence shall be committed, and upon con- 
viction thereof, the said court shall, by its order, direct 
said sheriff to sell anv neejro, mulatto, or other slaves so 
seized and taken by him under this act, to the Coloniza- 
tion Society for said five dollars, and the prison fees***** 
to be taken to Liberia : and if such Colonization Society 
shall not receive such negroe*. mulattos or other slaves 
for said five dollars each, and the prison fees of each, 
upon refusing, said sheriff shall after three weeks' public 
notice ffiven by public advertisements sell any such ne- 
gro, mulatio nr olher slave lo some person or persons, 
with a condition that any such ne^-ro, mulatto or other 
slave shall be removed and taken forthwith beyond the 
limits of this Stale to settle and reside. 

Such was the scheme which had been advocated in Bos- 
ton and elsewhere bv his opponent. He now left- the mat- 
ter in his hands, recommending him to exert all hi.s elo- 
quence and ing;enuitv in behalf of the honor of Maryland, 
bnt warning him before-hand that his labors would be in 
vain. 

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE said be would now proceed 
with what remained of the argument on the general ques- 
tion. He had been asked to point out the responsible 
parties in regard to slavery, and this was what lie was 
about to do. It was indeed much more easvto show who 
were the responsible parties than to prove the innocence of 
' those unjustly accused — it was perhaps his duty to do both 
— the first he had been attemptin?. It would be easy to 
do the other, and he trusted that after he iiad done.oo — if 
the good people of Glasgow on any future occasion should 
meet to pass resolutions applaudin? Mr. Thompson, <^ir the 
vast sacrifices he liad made and the suffering he had en- 
dured in the cause of Emancipation, they would not again 
feel obliged to pass resolutions condemning the whole 
American nation, as the vilest nation that ever existed for 
maintaining slavery. He would say. then, that he consid- 
ered the owners of the slaves as in the first place respon- 
sible. The slave owner had two important duties to per- 
form in reference to those of hig fellow beings, who were 



lielil in bondage. In the first place, he was bound lo in- 
fcirin himself of the whole question in its length and 
breadlh, and having done so, he oii^ht in the speediest 
manner possible, consistent with the happiness of the slaves 
thcuiselvcs, to .^et theui free. This was the duly of a slave 
ow ner, as an individual. Bui as his lot might be cast in a 
slaveholding state, it was his duly, in addition to freeing 
his own slaves, that he sliould use every lawful means to 
enlighlcn public opinion. Whatever faculties he poy.«eB8- 
ed, it was his duly to use ihem in the attempt to remove 
the prejudices of those whose minds were not yet enlight- 
ened on this important question. But, while it was his 
duty to do this, he was to refrain from everything which 
would naturally tenti to exasperate the mind-s of ihe mas. 
ters. He was not to go and take hold of a man by tiic 
throat and say ' You are a great thieving, man-dealing 
villain, and unless you instantly give your slaves liberty, I 
will pitch you out of this three st"ry window-' That was 
not the mode in which a' prudent man ^vo||ld go to Work. 
And he (Mr. Breckinridge) would like, nbove all things, 
to m:>ke Mr. Thompson and his fellow laborers sensible of 
this important truth ; that in their efforts to give freedom 
to the slaves, nothing could be done without the consent of 
the slave owners. And unless it was kept in view. Mr. 
Thompson might labor, to use an American homely phrase 
' till the COW'S come home,' but he would not move a sin- 
gle step nearer his object. While on this head there was 
another saving which be had no doubt Mr. Thompson had 
frequently heard in America, and which might be of some 
use for him to bear in mind, if he revisited that horrible 
country; it was that one 'spoonful of molasses would 
catch more flies than a hogslie.id of vinegar.' With re- 
gard to the mode in which the question of slavery should 
be taken up in those states where it existed, he would say 
that every thing had been done — agitation, as it was call- 
ed in this country — to enlighten the public mind on the 
whole question, was the only thing that could advance the 
cause. If there ^vas any thing else that might be taken 
advantage of for that end, he was willing to learn it, and 
to go home and try to teach his countrymen who were la- 
boring in the same cause. In the second place, Mr. B. 
proceeded to say that, the parties responsible for the exist- 
ence of slavery were the states which tolerated it. If 
slavery were wrong, as he was fully prepared to assert it 
to be, then those states or communities which tolerate it 
were justly responsible at the bar of God, at the tribunal 
of an enlightened world. If slavery were wrong, those 
who have power were bound to abolish it as soon as it 
could be done consistently with the greatest amount of 
good to all concerned. Now slavery could end in any state 
only by violence, or by the consent of the masters. This 
made it obviously the duty of all who had right views in 
such coinmunities, to extend and enforce them in such a 
way as shall appear most likely to secure the object in 
view, namely, peaceful, voluntary, and legal abolition. It 
demonstrates too, (hat whenever the majority of such a 
community are ready to act in this behalf, they are bound 
to act in such a manner as will constitutionally and speed- 
ily effect the object, even though multitudes in that com- 
munity should still oppose it. But here again it is most 
clear that such a result can never be brought about, till the 
majority of such slaveholding communities shall not only 
consent to it, but require it. So that in every branch of 
the matter it constantly appears how indispensible, light 
and love, gentleness, wisdom, and truth are ; and how per- 
fectly mad it is to expect to do anything in America by 
harsh vituperation, hasty and violent proceedings. Bnt, 
say the anti-slavery people, you can abolish slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and might purchase the freedom of 
all the slaves throughout the whole of the states with the 
public money. But it was not the price of the slaves that 
was the chief difficulty in making an end to slavery. The 
inhabitants of the southern states reckoned this the least 
part of the case. To take away our slaves, say they, is 
to take away not our property alone, but our country also ; 



30 



Second Night — Tuesday — Mr. BrecTcinridge. 



for without tliem the country would not l)e cultivated. He 
did not say that the Southern Planters were right in think- 
ing so, but hfi knew that they did think so ; and therefore 
it was necessary to take their opinion into account. This 
was only an instance of the many dilficulties hy which tiie 
question was beset, and would let them see that it was not 
a mere matter of pounds, shillings and pen<;e. In refer- 
ence to the efforts made by tiie American people to abolish 
slavery, Mr. Breckinridge said they had done much in this 
cause before Mr. Thompson was born, and possibly before 
his father was born. They had labored for ages, he might 
almost say for half centuries. During that time they had 
effected much, and they would have done more but for the 
interference of the party with which Mr. Thompson was 
identified. A party whose principles were based on false 
metaphysics — on false morality, who came often with the 
fury of demons, and yet said they were sent by God. He 
would say the cause of emancipation had been much in- 
jured by the ill-designed efforts of that party, they had 
thrown the cause a hundred years farther back than it was 
five years ago. In reference to the Maryland Colonization 
scheme, of which they had heard so much from Mr. 
Thompson, he would only be able, as his time was nearly 
expired, to make a remark or two. That society had ex- 
isted for about four years. In its fourth annual report 
there is a statement from the managers of (he Maryland 
state fund, that within the preceding year 299 manumis- 
sions haci been reported to them, which, with those pre- 
viously reported, make 1101 slaves manumitteci, purely 



and freely manumitted, within four years in that state: 
while the total number of colored persons transported to 
Liberia since the society commenced its operations was 
then only one hundred and forty, as exhibited by the same 
report. Nothing conld show more clearly the falsity of 
those statements which represent the scheme of Maryland 
Colonization, as being cruel, oppressive, and peculiarly 
opposed to the progress of emancipation. The direct con- 
trary is in all respects true. With regard to the book 
from which Mr. Thompson had read some extracts, pur- 
porting to be the laws of Maryland; if he were not mis- 
taken, that book was a violent and inflammatory pamphlet 
written by some person, perhaps Vjy Mr. Thompson him- 
self, shortly after his (Mr. B's) visit to Boston. He 
would not enter upon the discussion of the merits of that 
pamphlet, against which it had been alleged in America, 
at the place where it originated, and he believed truly 
charged, that instead of containing faithful extracts from the 
laws of Maryland, it did in fact contain oidv schemes of laws 
which had been proposed in the Assembly of Maryland, 
but which had never received their sanction; chiefly, in 
consequence of the opposition of the friends of cohmiza- 
lion. In conclusion he would say, that the Maryland 
scheme was, as a whole, one of the most wise and humane 
projects that had ever been devised. He had no objec- 
tion, on proper occasions, to go fully into it, and he hoped 
to be able to show that it would do much for the ameliora- 
tion of the negro race. 



DISCUSSION. 



THIRD NIGHT— WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15. 



Mr. BRECKINRIDGE said— The mhjc.ct fjr dis- 
cussion this evening by two appointinc^nts, \v:»s the great 
cause of colonization, as it presented itself in America; 
and he waa aware that of ail the parts of the suhject of 
these discussions there were none on which their opinions 
were more decidedly made up against what he believed to 
be the truth. It was therefore peculiarly embarrassing 
for him to enter upon the subject, but he did so with that 
frankness and candor with which he had entered upon ihe 
other topics o< discussion; and if he would not show 
tliein sufficient reason to commend the principle of colo- 
nization to their minds and feelings, he could only expect 
that they should remain of their present opinions. Tlie 
scheme of colonization was not a new one in America. 
It had been spoken of 40 or 50 years ago, by him who in 
his day ranked next to the father of his country in the 
afreciions of the American people, INIr. Jefferson, before 
he filled the President's chair, while he was President, 
and afterwards occupied his thoughts with this great 
scheme. Being himself a decided enemy to slavery, he 
tried to rouse the minds of his countrymen to the advan- 
tages which Would arise from the colonizing the free 
blacks of America on some part of the western coast (»f 
Africa. With this view, he entered into negotiations with 
the Sierra Leone Company in this country, to receive 
into their colony free people of color from America; and 
he also had a|)plied to the Portuguse government, at that 
time a large .African proprietor, for a place where the 
free blacks might be allowed to colonize themselves. 
Whether these etforts, which were applauded and aided 
bv many wise and good men, dcser\ed to be praised or 
blamed was not the topic to be taken up at present; but 
they showed lliai the scheme was one vviiich could not be 
called a new scheme. This proposal of colonizing the free 
blacks of America on the west coast of Africa had obtain- 
ed the approbation of nine-tenths of all those throughout 
America who took any interest in the fate of the black 
race: lor even the great bulk uf liiose who were now in 
fa\ or of ' abolitionism,' were at one lime the friends of 
colonization. VV helher they had good or bad reasons for 
the change which had taken place in their o|inions, would 
be more apparent, perhaps, when they arrived at the end 
of till! (liscu.-'.-ion. It was in the course of the year 1822, 
or 1S23, thai the first colonists were sent out from Amer- 
ica. He might not be peifecily accurate in his dates as 
he gave them from memory, but the present argument did 
not depend on exact accuracy in that respect. The so- 
ciety tor promoting the colonization scheme was organis- 
ed some years before the dale stated above, when an ex- 
pedition was sent out to explore the coast of Africa with 
a view to establishing the colony; and afterwards anoth- 
er to purchase territory; and then the cidonists were sent 
out, whiih he believed look jil.ice for the first time after 
1820. The so<:icly coniiiuied to pursue the scheme for a 
period of i) or 10 years, and met with no opposition ex- 
cccpl from Some |)v.ities in the extreme South; Imt had 
the concurrence of almost all tlie wi.-e, the good, and the 
benevolent in America. It was not till about 1830, that 
any very violejit opposition was made to the society's of)- 
eratioiisj and he believed Mr. Garrison was among the 



first vvho opposed it, on the ground that its operations 
were injurious to the interests of the colored race in 
America. Mr. Arthur Tappan also ceceded from, the 
society about the same time, but upon different ground.^ 
from Mr. (iarrison. His opposition arose from the socie- 
ty's not taking up his ground in reference to lemperance. 
lie had no liestitation in saying that Mr. Tappan wa.=i 
right, and that the society was wrong; as they did nut 
go far enough in regard to this point. He the more rea- 
ddy admilted that in this particular, Mr. Tappan's views 
were right, as he was wrong in every other point which 
he assumed in reference to the society. But it was not 
till about 1832, that an organized opposition to the soci- 
ety began to manifest itself. In 1S33, the American An- 
ti-Slavery Society was established, one of the fumiament- 
al principles of which, and perhaps the one they most 
zealously propagated, was uncompromising hostility to 
the colonization scheme. In the progress of events, loo, 
it turned out that all the friends of colonziation did not 
see alike on all parts of the subject. Many of ihem 
thought that the interests involved were too important and 
too great to be left to a single board of management, or 
staked on a single series of experiments. Some consid- 
ered that one general principle of operation could not be 
made broad enough fur the circumstances of all the 
states, and hence arose several separate societies. As that 
of Maryland, organized on peculiar principles, which 
have direct reference to general emancipation ; and as 
those of New York or Philadelphia, which have founded 
a cobny on principles of peace ; — the great lemperance 
principle being equally by them and the Maryland Soci- 
ety. The general Society at Washington, a'ssnmed the 
ground of colonizing on the west coast of Africa with 
their own consent, perscms of color from America who 
were of good character, and who were free at the time of 
their being .sent out. The Maryland Society went a step 
farther. They sa\v that the colonization scheme would 
have a reflection favorable to emancipation; and tliev 
carried on their operation with a direct and avowed re- 
ference to the ultimate emancipation of the slaves in that 
state. The New York and I'hiladelphia societies were 
founded, as I have above said, on ihc principle of tem- 
perance and peace — the former principle being common 
also to the Maryland scheme. 'J'lie united societies of 
New York and I'hiladelphia first took 120 slaves who had 
been manumitted by the late Dr. Hawes of Va., and form- 
ed them into a colony. The Parent Society's territory in 
Africa was called Siberia. It was about 100 leagues in 
length, along the coast, about 10 or 15 leagues deep, and 
there were 5 or 6 settlements, all under the general con- 
trol of that Society. There were in ihoiii all about 4,000 , 
colonists, a great portiim of wiiom were maniimilied 
.slaves. The colony of the Maryland Society was farther ' 
South than that of the Parent Society. It Was situated 
on the point of the coast called Cape Palmas, and was it- ■ 
self called Maryland in .Ahica. It was under the charge j 
of a board of management in Maryland, and consisted at 
this time of between 2 and 300 ccdonists, who were chiefly 
manumitted slaves. The oilier colony, that belonging to Ihe 
New York and Philadelphia society, was at Bassa Cove; i 



J2 



Third Night — Wednesday — Mr. BrecJdnridge. 



and was unJor tlie cbavge of tlie directors of that society. 
There were in all about 5000 colonists under the charge 
of these sofieties. Foi' the first few years of the exist- 
ence of the Parent Society, it was supported by a numiier 
of gentlemen for different reasons. At the conimencenient 
it was not perhaps perfectly clear how it might operate. 
Some advocated the cause and supported the interests of 
the society, on the principles of direct humanity to the 
free colored persona of America. Others, again, support- 
ed it as calculated to produce collateral eflects favorable 
to the slaves, and the general cause ofemancipation in the 
country. Other.s, on the ground that it would enable the 
country to get rid of the colored population, without much 
reference to what might be the result to the colored popu- 
lation themselves ; just as if in Eiiglanil there were indi- 
viduals who would promote emigration to get the country 
rid of those who were, as they supposed, given to idle- 
ness and a burden upon the country. There may have 
been some who supported the society from an actual love 
of slavery, and as a means whicli they supposed might 
lessen soine of the evils by which it was accompanied. 
During the first year of the society's operations, many 
thousands of speeches were delivered, and many hundreds 
of pamphlets were published about the society, its opera- 
tions, and their eftects; and it was quite possible that 
Mr. Thompson might be able to bring forward some sen- 
tences and scraps from the speeches of a slave-owner, who 
looked upon the society as a means of perpetuating slave- 
ry in America; or he might produce some speech, in 
which the society was supported as a means of ridding 
the country of the free people of color, no matter what 
became of them afterwards. But it was uncandid and 
unjust to take this plan of opposing the cause; because it 
was well known that whatever might be the case in par- 
ticular instances, the general fact was, that the great ma- 
jority of the supporters of the society had always sup- 
ported it, because of the good effects they anticipated 
iVom it in favor of ultimate emancipation, as well as its 
present, and immense benefits to the free blacks. Now, 
1 challenge Mr. Thompson, to the plain admission 
or the plain denial of these statements. If he denies 
them I am content ; for in that case, he will stand con- 
victed in America, for the denial of that which every 
man, woman, and child there, kncjws to be true. 11 he 
admits my statements to be substantially true, then the 
entire point of the charges brought by him and his friends, 
ao^aiiist colonization, is broken off; and all he or they can 
allege against it, can equally be alleged against every 
thiriT, goixl or bad, that ever existed, namely, that men 
supported it for various or even opposite reasons. I go 
farther — I assert, and call upon Mr. T. to admit or to 
deny it, I care not which — that just in proportion as the' 
cause has developed itself, and its natural and legitimate 
infuences been plainly exhibited — those who favor slavery 
have cooled in its support, or withdrawn entirely from it 
— while those who favor emancipation, ami desire the good 
of the (tee people of color, have, in the same degree, and 
with increasing cor lialily, rather avowed it. Insomuch 
that it will be difficult, if not wholly impossible, for eviden- 
ces of friendship to it, from an avowed friend of slavery, 
to be culled out of all his scrajis, as occurring within the 
last three or four years. Inileed, no persons were more 
persecuted after what Mr. T. calls persecution in some of 
the Southern slates, than those who advocate the cause 
of colonization, a fact which began to occur as soon as 
those slave-owners, who desired shuery to continue, clear- 
ly saw that the natural result was the ultimate emancipa- 
tion of the slaves. How far the conduct of Mr. Thomp- 
son and hi;i frituds, was calculated to produce a reaction 
in the South, and incline moderate and humane masters 
to the views of the emancipationists, cannot now be de- 
termined. But that the increasing wisdom and benevo- 
lence of the South, — will compensate for the folly and 
phrenzy at the North — there is good reason to hope. He 



would now proceed to give a few reasons why this scheme 
of colonization should be supported. But he would first 
call their attention to a resolution proposed by Mr. (ieorge 
Thompson, at a meeiing of the Young Men's Anti-Slavery 
Society of Boston . — 

That, as the American Colonization Society has been 
denominated to be in iis principles unrighteous, unnatur- 
al, and prospeclive, the allempts now made to give per- 
manency to this inslitulion, is a fraud upon the ignorance 
and an outrage upon the intelligence of the public, and 
as such deserves the severest reprobation. 

The verbiage of this resolution showed its parentage. 
No one who had ever heard one of Mr. Thompson's 
speeches could for a moment doubt the authorship of the 
resolution. But what were they to think of an individual 
who, being almost a perfect stranger in America, came 
forward at the public meeting, and spoke in terms like 
these of a society, supported and encouraged by the great 
majority of the nation — embracing in that majority most 
of what is distinguished by rank, by knowledge, or by 
virtue, in the country. What but universal execration 
from the violent, and pity and contempt from all — could 
be expected to follow such proceedings 1 And yet, Lon- 
don, Edinburgh, and Glasgow celebrate the prudence of 
Mr George Thompson in Aineri("i, and praise his conduct 
there on their behalf! It was not demonstrated that the 
scheme was either unnatural, proscriptive or foolish. He 
wished much to hear Mr. Thompson attempt that demon- 
stration. He (Mr. B.) would aitem|)t to prove on the 
other hand, that in itseif the scheme was good, wise, and 
benevolent. His first reason was that it was good for 
the free black population of America, for wbo.se benefit 
it was intended. Whatever might be the opinions en- 
tertained regarding slavery ; whatever might be the 
opinion as to the duty of admitting the free colored popu- 
lation to all the rights and privileges of white people; 
taking it for granted that slavery should be abolished, 
taking it for granted that the free colored population 
should have the same rights and privileges as the white 
population; admitting as so many have declared, that 
these free people of color are generally very little elevated 
above the condition of the slaves; granting the existence 
cf the absurd prejudice among the white population 
against people of color ; taking as true, all the asser- 
tions of all, or any parties, on this subject, and then say, 
if it is not a good, a wise, a humane reason for encourag- 
ing the soicely, that they are able to snatch 1,000 or 10,- 
000 of these degraded, ruined, undone, and unhappy peo- 
ple from the condition they are placed in, and plant them 
in comfort, freedom, and peace in Africa 1 XA'liile IMr. 
Thunipson and his friends were trying their schemes to 
terminate slavery, and break down |)rejudice against color 
— schemes whicl»,were likely to be long in progress, if we 
were to judge by the past — it seemed most e.xtraordinary 
that they should object to our cflbits to lake a portion of 
these people out uf the grasp ot their present sorrows, 
and do for them in Africa all that has been done for cjur- 
selves in America. Above all things, is it not inexplica- 
ble, that they should consider slavery on one side of the 
Atlantic, better than freedom on the other. A thought, 
proving him who held it, unworthy of freedom any where. 
If this was not a scheme, full of wisdom, goodness, or 
benevolence, he knew not what wisdom, goodness, or be- 
nevolence meant. They proposed to do nothing without 
the free consent of the colored people- And now, if a 
similar offer were made to every poor and unforlunale in- 
habitant of Glasgow, and all of them choose to remain 
here, exi-ept one, and that one was captivated by the ac- 
count of some distant El Dorado, and choose to push his 
fortune there, could the rest assume over this one the 
right of saying, you shall not go ; we are determined not 
to go, and equally determined not to let you go. Yet the 
abolitionists have been going about, from Dan to Bershe- 



Third Night — Jfedncsdaij — Mr. Breckinridge, 



33 



ba, not only nltacking and vilifyinK tlie whiles, for propos- 
ing to coluni/.o tlio hl.ifks wi'tli tlieir own free consent ; 
bnl o<iiiiilly attacking' t!io iilai-ks for availin;,' tlienisolve.s 
of ll»c offer. Anil liiongli llio colony had been stigmatised 
as a grave, as a jilace of skidls, it was tiio very place fit- 
ted by natnre for tli(^ black population, the land granted 
by God to their fathers. It is in one sense then, a matter 
of no moment, what thecansesare which iiidiice the society 
to make the oiler, for the black population to emigrate to 
Africa — even on the showing of the abolitionists them- 
selves, the colored population arc kept in a state of deg- 
radation ; and it is certainly just and good that means 
should be afforded ihcin for 'gettin<j rid of that degrada- 
tion. In the second place, he maintained thai this col- 
onization scheme naturally tended to promote the cause of 
general emancipation. To illustrate this, Mr. r>rcckinridge 
rcail the following extract from the IMaryland reiwrt of 
1835, p. 17 :— 

The number of manumissions in the stato reported to 
the board since the lasl annual report, is two hundred 
and ninety nine, making the wiiole number reported as 
manumitted, since, the passage of the act of 1831, eleven 
hundred and one. 

This extract showed that the scheme did not prevent 
manumission, but had tended gradually to increase its 
amount. That this was the intention and actual ell'ect of 
the colonization scheme, he would now prove to the meet- 
ing in so far as regarded fllai viand; and if he did so of 
that state, he su])posed tliey would not lind it diflicult to 
believe the same thing of other states, as it was against 
fllarvland that Mr. Tlioujpson had expended his peculiar 
virulence. Mr. 13. then read the iolluwing : 

Resolved, That this society believe, and act upon '.ho 
belief that colonization has a tendency to promote eman- 
cipation, by affording to the emancipated slave a home, 
where he can be liappier and belter, in every point of 
view, than in this country, and so inducing masters to 
manumit, for removal to Africa, who would not manumit 
uncondilionaily. — 3d A. Kep. page 5. 

Maryland, through her State Society, is about trying 
the important experiment, wheliier, by means of colonies 
on the coast of Africa, slaveholding states may become 
free slates. The Board of Managers cannot doubt of 
success however; and in exercising the high and respon- 
sible duties devolving upon them, it is with the firm be- 
lief thai ihe lime is noi very remote, when, with the full 
and free consent of iliose inicresied in this species of 
property, the Slate of JMaryland will be added to llio'lisl ■ 
<if the iiou-slavcholdiiig stales of the Union. — 3 A. li. 
page G. ' 

It has been charged again and again, aga'nsl the gen- 
eral scheme, thai iU leiKlcncies were to perpetuate slave- 
ry ; and, at lliis moment, bolh in lAis country and 
in Europe, there are those who sliginalize the labors of 
men like B'lnlcy, Caldwell, llar;>er, Ayres, Aslimun, 
Key, Gurley, Anderson, and Randall, as leading to this 
end. Unfounded as is llie charge, it has many believers. 
The colonization law of Maryland is based upon a far 
different principle; for tlie emigration of slaves is ex- 
pressly pioliibited, and ihc iransporlalion of those who 
are emancipated is amply provided for. In accordance, 
therefore, willi llio general suiilimenl of Ihe public, and 
anxious lliat colonization in llic slate should be relieved 
from the ii.ipulaiion |)iil upon Ike cause, leoolulions wete 
unanimously adopted, avowing that the exlirpalioii of 
slavery in Marj land was the chief object of the society's 
existence. — 3 A. R. page 33. 

Throoghout the report the same current of events was 
referred to ; and they were found to be every where the 
same as to the effect.s of the colonial scheme on the man- 
umission of slaves. To bhow the cause of the objections 



to the scheme by free persons of color, Mr. B. read the 
following extract: — 

The Hoard would here remark, that in collecting emi- 
grants fioni among Ihe free persons of color in iho Mate 
the greatest ddliculiy they have experienced has grown 
out of llie incrcdulily of these with legard to the ac- 
counts given lo Ihem ol Africa. Even when their friends 
in Liberia have wrillen to them, inviting them to emi- 
grate, and speaking favoral)ly of Ihe coiiMlry, they have 
Ijclioved that a restraint was upon the writers, and Ihat 
Iho society's agents prevented any letter from reaching 
America, which did not speak in terms of praise of Afri- 
ca. The ingenuiiy of the colored people in this slate 
devised a simple test of the reliance that was lo lie plac- 
ed in letters, purporting lo be wrillen by iheir friends ; 
which llicy have during ihe lasl year or eighteen months 
been |iutliiig into praclicc. When Ihe emigrant sailed 
from the United Slates, he took wilh him une half of a 
strip of calico, the other half being retained by ihe per- 
son lo whom he was lo write when he reached Af>ica. If 
he was permiued to write without restraint, and if he 
S|>oke his real sonlimenis in his lellcr, ho enc losed his por- 
tion of the calico, which, malchiiig wilii ilial from wiiich 
it had been severed, gave aulhcnlirily and weight to the 
correspondence. Many of these loktMis, as ihey are cal- 
led, have been received, and their effect has been evident 
in the greater willingness manifested by the free people 
of color lo emigrate; especially those of them who are 
at all well judging and well informed. — 4 A. K. page G. 

Whatever difficulties now exist as to getting free peo- 
])Ie of color to avail themselves of the society's scheme, 
and emigrate to Africa, arise in a great degree from the 
efforts of the abolition party to misrepresent the inten- 
tions of the society, and the state and prospects of the 
colony, to the free colored people of the United States. 
Thus, showing the double atrocity of preventing these peo- 
ple from being benefitted and of traducing tbofe persons 
who wish to benefit them. In an aildress from Cape Pal- 
mas, by the colonists to their brethren in America, dated 
in October, 1834, there was a distinct avowal of the fact, 
that it was better for them that they had gone there; and 
nrn-inf others to come also. Mr. 15. then read the follow- 
ing extract /i'oni the address: — 

Dear Brethren. — Agreeably to a resolution of our fel- 
low-citizens herewith enclosed, we now cnileavor lo lay 
before you a fair and impartial statement of the actual sit- 
uation of this colony ; of our advantages aiul prospecis, 
■ both temporal and spiritual. 

We arc aware of the great difference of opinion which 
exists in America with respect lo colonization. We are 
aware of the fierce contentions between its advocates and 
opposcrs; and we are of ojiinion that this contention 
• among ihe well meaning, is based principally upon llio 
various cind contradictory accoiinls concerning this coun- 
try and its advanliiges ; receiving from the one lianci the 
cnlhusiasiie and visionary new comers, who write without 
having made themselves at all acquainted wilh lire true 
slate of affairs in Africa ; and on ihc oilier, from the tim- 
orous, dissTpated, and disheartened, who long to return 
to their fi>rmcr degraded siliialion, anil are willing lo as- 
sign anv reason, however false and detrimental to their 
fellow-cilizeiis, rather llinn the true one, viz.: — llial they 
are actually unfit, from want of virtue, energy and ca- 
pacilv, to become freemen in any counliy. 

We judge that the time which has elapsed since our 
first arrival, (eight monihs.) has cnal)led us lo form a prel- 
ty correct opinion of this our new colony, of the climate, 
and of the filiicss of our povernmenl. 'l"hcrefore we may 
safely say we write nol ignoraiilly. And as to the truth 
ol our assertions, we here solemnly declare, once for all, 
llial we write in the fear of (io<l, and are fully sensible 
thai we slaiid pledged lo maintain Ihcm here and hereaf- 
ter. 



34 



Third Night— Wednesday—Mr 



Breckinrittgc. 



Of our novernme'.it.— Wo declare that we have enjoy- 
ed (and the same is for ever guaranteed to us hy our Con- 
stitution,) ail and every civil and religious right and 
privilege, which we iiave ever known enjoyed by the 
while citizens of the United States, excepting the elec- 
tion of our chief niagislrale, who is appoinled by the 
board of managers of the Maryland State Colonization 
Society. Other officers are appointed or elected from 
the colonists. Freedom of speech and the press, election 
by ballot, trial by jur3', the right to bear arms, and the 
liberty of worshipping God agreeably lo the dictates of our 
own consciences, are rendered for ever inviolate by the 
Constitution. 

That we may not weary your patience or be suspected 
of a desire lo set forth matters in too favorable a light, 
we have been thus brief in our stnlemenis. It will natur- 
ally be supposed, brethren, that the object of this address 
is lo induce you to emigrate and join us. 'J'o deny this 
would be a gross want of candor, and not in unison with 
our professions at the outset. We do wish il, and we len- 
der you both the heart and hand of good fellowship. 

But here again, lei us be equally candid with you. It 
is nol every man wo could honestly advise or desire lo 
come to this colony. To those who are contenled to live 
and educate their children as house servants and lackeys, 
we would say; stay where you are; here we have no 
masters lo employ you. To the indolent, heedless, and 
slothful, we would say, tarry among the llesh pots of 
Egypt ; here we gel our bread by ihe sweat of the brow. 
To drunkards and rioters, we would say, come nol lo 
us; yon can never become naturalized in a land where 
there are no grog shops, and where lempernnce and or- 
der is Iho mono. To ihe timorous and suspicious, we 
would say, stay where you have prolcclors ; here we pro- 
tect ourselves. But the industrious, enterprising, and 
patriotic of what occopAiJon or profession soever; the 
merchant, the mechanic, anJ farmer, bul more particular- 
ly the latter, we would counsel, advise, and intreat to 
come and be one with us, and assict in this glorious enter- 
prise, and enjoy with u« that liberty to which we ever 
were, and the man of color ever must be a stranger in 
America. To the ministers of the gospel, both white and 
colored, we would say, come to this great harvest, and 
diffuse amongst us and our benighted neighbors, ihal light 
of the gospel, without which liberty ilself is but slavery, 
and freedom bul perpetual bondage. 

Accept, brethren, our best wishes; and praying, that 
Ihe Great Disposer of events will direct you lo' that 
course, which will tend to your happiness and ihe benefit 
of our race throughout the world. 

We .subscribe ourselves, 

Yours, most nflreclionately, 

JACOIJ GROSS, 
WM. POLK, 
CFIAS. SCOJ'I.AND. 
ANTHONY WOOD. 
THOMAS JACKSO.X. 

The report having been read, it was then moved bv 
James M. Thompson and seconded, that the report be 
approved and accepted. The yeas anci nays were pre- 
sented as follows : — 

Yeas. — Jeremiah Stewart, James Bfarlin, Samuel 
Wheeler, H. Duncan, Daniel Banks, Joshua Stewart, 
John Howen, James Stewart, neniy Dennis, Eden Hard- 
ing, Robert Whilefield, Nathan Lee. Nathaniel Edmoiid- 
son, Charles Scotland, Nathaniel Harmon, l!ur. Minor, 
Anthony Howard, James M. Thomson, Anthony Wood, 
Jacob Gross, Wm. Polk, Thomas Jackson. 

Nays.— Nicholas Thomson, William Reynolds, Wil- 
liam Cassel. 

N. B. Those who voted in the negative, declared that 
Ihe stalemenls contained in the report were true, bolli in 



spirit and letter, but they preferred returning to America 
— whereupon the mseling adjourned, sine die. 

A Iruc copy of the record of the proceedings. 

WM. POLK. 

If any weight was due to htrman testimony it was made 
probable at least, ifnot certain, that the intentions of thepro- 
niotersof the.«clieine were, that it should be most kind to the 
black man in all its direct actions, and by its indirect in- 
fluences, the precursor of the abolition of slavery; and if 
the society liad fallen into a mistake, the colonists them- 
selves had also fallen into the same; as in this address 
they say the scheme has proved siK-,cessful. lie would 
therefore conclude this second r»'ason by maintaining that 
lie had sufficiently proved that the scheme had been pro- 
ductive of good, not only to the colored population, but 
also to the course of universal freedom. The reasons l»e ( 
would now offer would be more general. And in bringing 
forward the third head of argument, he observed that the 
uniform method which God had selected to civilize and 
enlighten mankind, and to carry through the world a 
knowledge of the acts and laws, w'itli all the kindred bless- 
ings of civilization, was colonization. Amongst the firut 
commands given by God to man, was to replenish and 
subdue the earth, and there was striking fulness of meaning 
in thcexpres.-iui). While there seemed lo exijit in the whole 
human family an instinctive obedience to this command ; 
God had so directed its manifestation that he believed he 
might safely challenge any one loshow him any one nation 
which had located the permanent seat of its empire, in the 
native land of its inhabitants. Every nation had been a 
con(|uercd nation; every people have in turn been enlight- 
ened from others, and in turn colonists again, 'i'his na- 
tion which has reputed itself the most enligtened in the ■ 
world, and far be it from him to controvert the opinior» ^ 
in their presence — might trace its superior enlightenmeivt 
in part lo the fact of its having been so much oftenev con- 
(|ucred than any other; and the consequent greater mix- 
ture of nations among the inhabitants. Again, he ob- 
served, that God had kept several races of men drstincf, 
from the time of Noah down to the present day ; and in 
their mutual action upon each other, ihere was this cxtr?*- 
ordinnry fact, that wherever the descendants of Sliem had 
colonized a country, occupied by the descendants of Japhet 
or Ham, they had extirpated those who were before thenri. 
When the descendants of Japhet con(|uercd the descen- 
dants of Shem, they were extirpated before them, when 
the descendants of Shem conquered those of Japhet the 
cai<> was the same; and so the descendants of Ham upon 
eithei. But when Japhet conf|iiered Japhet there was no 
extirpation, and when Shem conquered Shem there was 
no extirpation, as also of Ham conquering Ham. Now, 
as lo the continent of Africa, if history taught any truth 
they must roll baok all its tide, or Africa was destined to 
be still f.irlher colonized. As yet, the pestilence like the 
flaming sword, before the garden of the Lord, had kept 
the way hedged up, the white man, and yellow man, away 
from the .-jpot, reserved to the fit hour, and people came. 
If we take the bodings of Providence all is well. But if 
we rely on the lessons of the past, the only means in our 
power to prevent the uUimate colonization of Africa by 
some strange race, and the consequent extirpation of its 
race of blacks, is to colonize it with blacks. If they let 
Shem colonize there, the blacks will be extirpated, — if 
they let Japhet colonize, ihc blacks will be extirpated. 
Aliica must be undone, or she must be colonized with 
blacks; orall history is but one [)rodigious lie. To Britain 
seems specially committed, by a good Providence the des- 
tinies of A.-=ia; and we say to her kindly and faithfully — 
enter and occupy, till Messiah come : enter at once, lest 
wc enter before you. To America in like manner is Af- 
rica committeil. To do our Masters work there we must 
colonize it by blacks, wc mutt enlighten it by blackj", 



Third Night— JVcdnesday— Mr. Thompson. 



35 



And when Mr. T. ami his friends come to us with their 
t|ii:ickery, scarcely lour years olil, and re(|nire us to fore- 
go, for it our clearest convictions, our most clicrished 
plans, and our most enlightened vie>vs of truth and duty, 
we can only say to them, ' we are nuich obliged to you, 
but pray excuse us gentlemen, we have considered the 
matter before.' Every benevolent and right thinking 
jierson must see that the scheme of colonizing Africa by 
lilack men, is necessary to enlighten Africa, and prevent 
the extirpation of the black men there. Ho would in the 
fourth place take up the question of christianizing Af- 
rica, separate from tlie other ipiestion of mere civilization 
and preservation. There were only three ways, as liad 
been argued, in which the works of missions could be 
possibly conducted. In an admirable little treatise on the 
subject, published in this country, — and he regretted he 
knew not the author, or he would name him in pure honor, 
these methods were ably defuied and illustrated. One 
method was, to send out missionaries, and do the work, 
as many are now attempting it in so many lands. Anoth- 
61- was, by bringing the people to be converted, to those 
whom God chose to make the means of their conversion. 
And when Britain thinks harshly of America about slave- 
ry, let her remember, and melt into kindness at the 
thought of what we are doing to convert the tens of thou- 
sands of Irish Catholics she sends to ns yearly. The 
third way was by colonization ; and this in past ages has 
been the great and glorious plan. By this Europe be- 
came what she is; by this America was christianized; and 
lie would again refer them to the little book of which he 
had spoken, which, not being written by a slave-owner, 
nor even an American, might possibly be true; to con- 
vince them that it was in all cases a most efficient means 
to save the world. But in this peculiar case, it seemed to 
be the chief, if not the only means. The climate suited 
the black man, while hundreds of whites had fallen vic- 
tims to it. So peculiar does this appear to me, that I have 
never been able to comprehend how the pious and enlight- 
ened free blacks of America coidd S(j long, or at all resist 
the manifest call of God, to go and labor for him in their 
father land. There she is, ' sitting in darkness and drink- 
ing blood ' — with a full capacity and a perfect fitness on 
their parts, to enlighten, to comfort, and to save her — 
their mother, doubly requiring their care, that she 
knows not that she is blind and naked ! And yet they 
linger on a distant shore; and fill the air with empty 
murmurs, of time and earth, and its poor vanities ; and 
christian men around them, caress and applaud them, for 
their heathen hard-heartedness; and christian comaiuni- 
ties, iu their strange infatuation, send missions to thain, 
to prevent them from becoming the truest missionaries 
that the earth could furnish ! Shadows that we are — 
shadows that we pursue ! It was, in the fifth place, the 
only effectual and practical mode of putting an end to the 
slave trade. There wis indeed another way — by stopping 
the demand. But while they disputed the means of stop- 
ping the demand, there was another way — the stopping of 
the supply. Thi:i had long been an object dear to several 
nations. "The government of Britain, tht; government of 
America, and the governments of several other states, had 
sent several cruizers to stop the supply; but wovild any 
slaves be taken from Africa, if there was even a single 
city on the we.=tern coast, with ten thousand inliabitants, 
and three vessels of war at their command "! 'I'iiey would 
put an end to the trade the moment they were able to 
chastise the pirates, or make reprisals on the natiims to 
which they belonged. Why ia it we never hear of llio 
stealing of an Englishman, a German, or a Turk 1 Be- 
cause the thief knows that reprisals would be made, "r 
that he or some of his countrymen would be chastised, or 
stolen in return. So that all that w;is required, was to 
idant a city on the west coast of Africa, and this w'ould 
give protection to the population of tli:il country. Noth- 
ing is plainer, than that any nation which will make rc- 



jirisals, will have none of the inhabitants stolen. If re- 
|)risals wore luaile cfio'tive, the slave trade wotdd be 
immediately stoppe<l. It is the course pursued by Mr. 
Thompson and his friends, not the course inirsucd by us, 
which is likely to continue the slave trade. On 100 
leagues of African coast, it is already, to a great degree, 
suppressed ; and if we had been aided as the importance 
of the caus(! demanded, instead of being resisted with un- 
tiring activity, tiiis blessed object might now have beeu 
granted to the prayers of Christendom. 

Mk. TIIOMrSON earnestly hoped — that every word 
which Mr. Breckinridge iiad that night uttered, respect- 
ing the principles of the Colonization Society, and what 
had been elVectcd by that institution would be carefully 
l)reserved — that, on other occasions, and by other per- 
sons on both sides the Atlantic, Mr. Breckinridge's argn- 
nients might be canvassed, his facts investigated, and hia 
sentiments made known. I shall ofler no apology (con- 
tinued Mr.T.) for referring to a point discussed last even- 
ing, but not fairly disposed of. I am by no means satis- 
fied, nor do I think the enlightened, and least of all the 
christian world, will be satisfied with the doctrine which, 
for two evenings, lias been laid down and maintained by 
Mr. Breckinridge, that America, as .i nation, is not re- 
sponsible before God for the sin of slavery. I cannot, 
sir, receive that doctrine. I cannot lightly pass it over: 
much hinges upon this point, nor will I consent that 
America shall lay the flattering unction to her soul that 
she is not her brother's keeper — that any wretches with- 
in her precints may commit soid-mnrdcr, and she be in- 
nocent by reason of her wilful, self-induced, and self-con- 
tiimed impotency. I do not believe the doctrine of ' the 
irresponsibleness of America, as a nation,' to be politi- 
cally sound; still less do I l)elieve it to be the doctrine of the 
Bible. Sn-, I fearlessly charge America, as a nation,-— 
as the United States of America ; as a voluntary confed- 
eracy of free republics ; as living under one common con- 
stitution, and one common government, — with being a na- 
tion of slaveholders, and the vilest and most culpable on 
the face of the earth. I charge America with having a 
siaveholding President ; with holding seven thousand 
slaves at the scat of government; with licensing the 
slave-trade for iS400 ; with permitting the domestic slave- 
trade to the awful extent of 100,000 snids per annum ; 
with allowing prisons ' built with the public money, to be 
made the receptacles of nnofiending home-born Ameri- 
cans, destined for the Southern market; with permitting 
her legislators and the highest functionaries in the state 
to trample upon every dictate of humanity, and every , 
principle sacred in American independence, by trafficing 
' in slaves an:i the souls of men.' I charge America 'as 
a nation,' with permitting within her bounds a wide 
spread system, which my opponent has himself described 
as one "of d.jar robbery, universal co-icnbinago, horrid 
cruelty, and uniliumiiiated ignorance I charge America 
before the world and God, with ♦'>e awful crime of re- 
ducing more than two millions of her own children, born 
on her soil, and entitled to " life, lilierty, and the pursuit 
of hap|)iness,' to the st-'to of beasts; withholding from 
them every right, ap' privilege, and social or piditical 
blcssino', and le.Tin? thein the prey of those who have 
legislated awa.v the Word of Life, and the ordinances of 
religion; l''--'t their victims should at anytime see with 
their eyes, and hear with their cars, and understand with 
their 'learts, and should assume the bearing, and the name 
ami the honors of humanity. I charge America ' as ii 
nation,' with b^;ing wi'-kedly, cruelly, and in the highest 
sense, criminally indiftercnt to the happiness and eleva- 
tion of the tree colored man; with crushing and perspcut- 
ini; hiin in every part of the country ; with regarding liiin 
a> belonging to a low, degraded and irreclaimable rasle, 
who ought not to call America his country or his home, 
but seek in Africa, on the soil of his ancestors, a refuge 



36 



Third Night- 



Wednesday — Mr. Thompson. 



from persecution in the land which the English, and the be denominated tlie pecidiar sin of America. Slavery 

Dutch and the French, and the Irish, have wrested from might be found in many countries, but it was in America 

the rcfZ' men, and which they now proudly and self-corn- alone that there existed an aristocracy, founded on the 

placentlv, but most falsely style the lohite man's country, color of the skin. A race of pale-skinned patricians, rest- 

I charge all this and much more upon the government of ing their claims to peculiar ranks and privileges, upon 

America; upon the church of America, and upon the the hue of the skin ; the texture of the hair ; the form of 

people oC America. It is idle, to say the least, to talk of the nose, and the size of the calf. Rut for this abhor- 

rollin" the t^uilt of the system upon the individual slave- rence of color, Mr. 15. woidd not have been contented 

jiQljgP and the individual state. Tiiis cannot fairly be with the means proposed by the Colonization Society for 

done while the citizens throughout the land arc banded, the amelioration of slavery ; he would not have spoken 

confederated united. It is the sin of the entire church, a word of colonization, or ol that Golgotha, Liberia. Ac- 

The Presbyterians throughout the country are one body; ((uainted as he (Mr. T.) was with America, he had been 

the Baptists are one body; the Episcopalian INlethodists able to come to no other conclusion, but that the prejudice 

are one body ; they acknowledge one another; they cor- of color was that on which the colonization of the free 
dially fellowship one another. They make the sin, if it 



lly lellowship 
be a sin, theirs, by owning as brethren in Christ Jesus, 
and ministers of Jliin, who was anointed to preach de- 
liverance to the captives, men who shamelessly traffic in 
rational blood-redeemed souls ; nay, even barter away for 



negro was founded. There had been a great deal said of 
the inferior intellect of the black race, and of a marked 
deficiency in their moral qualities; but these were not the 
grounds on which it was sought to expatriate them; the 
justice practised towards them rested solely on the pre- 



acciirsed gold, their own church members. It is prc-em- judice which had been excited against their external per 
inently the sin of the church. It is the sin of the people sonal ])eculiari'.ies. Every word sjioken by Mr. Breck 
at large. It is said the laws recognize slavery. j • • ■ ■ i -• 
reply, the entire nation is answerable for those laws. We 
hear that the ' Constitution can do nothing,' that the 
« Congress can do nothing;' to which I reply — wo, and 
shame, and guilt, and execration must be, and ought to 
be the portion of that people, calling themselves Chris- 
tians and republicans, who can tolerate, through half a 
century, a constitution and a congress that cannot pre- 
vent nor cure the buying and selling of sacred humanity; 



iuridge in defence of colonization, went directly to prove 
this. The whole scheme rested on the dark color of those 
to be expatriated ; had the sufi'erers been white in the 
skin, l\Ir. B. would have advocated immediate, complete, 
and everlasting emancipation. lie would now turn to a 
matter, regarding which, he considered IMr. Breckin- 
ridge had treated the abolitionists of America with injus- 
tice — with unkindness — wiih something which he did not 
like even to name. Mr. B. had charsred the abolitionists 



the sundering of every fibre that binds heart to heart; and with having published a law as the law of the state of 
the dehumanization and buKdiery of peaceful and patriot- IMaryland, which had never been adopted bv the legisla- 
ic citizens within the territories over which they extend, tiu-e of that state; and when he (IMr. T.) had required of 
In whatever aspect I view this question, the people, and Mr. B. eviilence in support of his grave allegations, it 
the whole people, appear to be, before God and man, re- was in this case precisely as in the case of Mr. Garrison 
spoM.-il)le, politically, and iTKually, for the sin of slave- r.nd Mr. Wris>ht, — the' proofs were non est inventus, 
holding. They are responsible for the Constitution, with Now, he would ask, was this fair; was it magnanimous; 
any deficiencies and faults it may have, for they have the was it generous ; was it christian-Iike 1 The charge had 
power, and it is therefore their duty to amend it. They been distinctly made, and then it had been asked of the 
are responsible for the character and acts of Congress, for parties accused, to prove a negative. Mv. Breckinridge 
Ihey make the senators and representatives that go th^^re. was not likely to be long in Glasgow; and it was there- 
in a word, they are properly and solemnly responsible for fore most easy, and most convenient, to prefer charges 
that ' system ' of which we have heard so much, and for which could not, even on the testimony of the parties im- 
' the workings of that system,' and I declare it little l>et- plicated, be answered, until Mr. Breckinridge was far 
ter than subterfuge, to say that the people of America; awav, and the poison had had full lime to work its eflTect. 
the source of power; the sovereign, the omnipotent peo- Ho (M,-. T.) would, however, give it as his opinion, that 
pie — are not responsible for the existence of slavery, and his fellow-laborers on the other side of the Atlantic would 
all its kindred abominations within the territorial limits triumphantly clear themselves of this and every other im- 
of the Uni'.ed States. The charges which he had here pntation ; and finally emerge" from the ordeal, however 
made were important, grave, and awful. He mailo them fierce, pure, untarnished, and unscathed. Such a char?p, 
under the full and solenni impression of his accountable- however, should not be brought against him (Mr. T.) 
ness to mankind, and the God of nations. He believed The laws of Maryland, he cited, were to be found in the 
them to be true ; he was prepared to substantiate them, pages of the Colonization Society's accredited organ, the 
That mjt one i.ule of them might be lost or misrepresent- the African Repository, an entire set.of which was on the 
ed in Great BritiMn or America, he had penned them with platform, open to inspection. IMr. Breckinridge had 
his own hand, out (>f his own heart, and ho was prepared taken great pains to make out a case for the Maryland 
to support them in England, or in Scotland, or in Ameri- Colonization Society. This was not to be wondered at. 
ca Itself: for he hoped yet acrain to visit that country, and That society was a protege ofhis own. It hgid been pat- 
there resume his advocacy of ^he cause of the slave. Me ronized and fostered by him— for it, it appeared, he had 



would now come to the. coloniz^ion question, on which 
he felt completely at home. U^ adverting to this 
question, however, he experienced a d'lQiculty, which he 
had felt on many former occasions — that of not beincrable 
to compress wdiat he had to say within the compass of one 
address, lie would not only have to reply to \V\vat Mr. 
Breckinridge had advanced, l)ut he would have to~i«i,ch 
on topics which Mr. Breckinridge had overlooked — prirw 



ajjm')st suffered martyrdom, when, in advocating its cause 
iif*Boston he had been mistaken for an abolitionist; in 
that same city of Boston, where a gentlemanly mob of 
5,000 individuals, fashionably attired in black and brown, 
and blue cloth, had joyfully engaged in assaulting and dis- 
persing a peaceful meeting of forty ladies. He had not 
yet done with the Maryland Colonization Society. He 
prove that it was, taken as a whole, a 



. . • *. . , . . ^ ' • 1 was preparer! n_» nrdvr mm il \% ri^, iai\t^'i iis n wnujc, ii 

ciples affecting the ongin, char.acter, and very existence .^nst oppressive and iniquitous scheme. The laws framed 

ot that society, which Mr LrecUinridge had taken under to support it, prohibited manmnission except on condition 

lis special protection He (Air. 1.) would show, that of the removal of the freed slaves; thus submitting a 

tie improvement ol the black man s condition was not choice of evils, both cruel to the last extent:— perpetual 

tlie chiet object of the Colonization Society— that its op- bondage, or banishment from the soil of their birth, and 

erations sprung Irom that loathing of color which might the scenes and associations of infancy and youth. He 



Third Night — Wednesday — Mr. Thompson. 



37 



could show'lliat f'ce persons of cdIoi- comin;; into tlic 
state, were liable to be seized and sold ; and white per- 
sons invitin'T tiicin, and harborin:? them, liable to the in- 
Miction of heavy lines. Tliese and similar i)rovisions, all 
disgraceful and cruel, were the prominent features of the 
laws whicii had been liamed to carry into effect the be- 
nevolent and patriotic designs of the Maryland Coloniza- 
tion Society. Tiiat expulsion from the state was the thing 
intented. he would show from newspapers published in the 
state. What said the Baltimore Chronicle, a pro-slavery 
and colonization paper, at the time when the laws refer- 
red to were passed % Let his auditory hear with atten- 
tion. 

' The intention of tiiose laws was, and their eficcl must 
be, to EXl'KL the free people of color from this stale. 
They will tlnd themselves so hemmed iu by restrictions, 
that their situation cannot bo otherwise tlian uncomforta- 
ble should they elect to remain in JMaryland. These laws 
will no doulu be met by prohibitory laws in other slates, 
which will greatly increase the embarrassments of the 
people of color, and leave them no oilier alternative than 
to emigrate or remain in a very unenviable condition.' 

What said the Maryland Temperance Herald of May 
3, 1835 \ 

• We are indebted to the committee of publication for 
the first No. of the Maryland Colonization Journal, a new 
quarterly periodical, devoted to the cause of colonization 
in our stale. Such a paper has long been necessary ; we 
hope this will be useful. 

' Every reflecting man must be convinced, that the time 
is not far distant when the safely of the country will re- 
quire the EXPULSION of the blacks from its limits. It 
is perfect iblly to suppose, that a foreign population 
whose physical peculiarities must forever render them 
disiincl from the owners of the soil, can be permiied to 
grow and slrengllien among us with impunity. Let hair- 
brained entliusai,Ts speculate as they may.no abstract con- 
siderations of the natural rights of man.'will ever elevate 
the negro population to an equality with the whites. As 
long as they remain in the land of their bondage, they 
will be morally, if not physically enslaved, and indeed, 
so long as their distinct nationality is preserved their en- 
lightftnment will be a measure of doubtful policy. Under 
such circumstances every philanthropist will wish to see 
them removed, but eradually, and with as little violence 
as possible. For eflecling this purpose, no scheme is lia- 
ble to so few objections, as that of African colonization. 
It has been said, that this plan has effected but little- 
true, hut no other has done anything. We do not ex- 
pect that the exertions of beiievolent individuals will be 
able to rid us of the millions of blacks who oppress and 
are oppressed by us. All they can accomplish, is to sat- 
isfy the public of the praclicabilUv of the scheme— they 
can make the experiment— they "are making it and vviih 
success The stale of Maryland has already adopted this 
plan, and before long every Southerh stale will have its 
colony. The whole African coast will be strewn with 
cities, and then should some fearful convulsion render it 
necessary to the public safety TO BANISH THE 
MULTITUDE AT ONCE, a house of refus:e will have 
been provided for them in the land of theiv fathers.' 

Yet this was the plan of which tlie American Coloniza- 
tion Society, at is annual meeting in 1833, had spoken in 
the following terms : — 

' Resolved, That the society view with the hlg\iest grat- 
ification, the continued efforts of the state offtlaryland to 
accomplish her patriotic and benevolent system in regard 
to hercolored population, and that the last appropriation 
by Ihat stale of two hundred thousand dollars, in aid of 
African colonization, is hailed by the friends of the sys- 
tem, as a BRIGHT EXAMPLE to other states.' 

Mr. Breckinridge had lauded the Colonization Society 



as a scheme ofbencvolence and patriotism. He {I\Ir. T. ) 
did not mean to deny that there had been many pious and 
excellent men found amongst its founders and subsecpient 
supporters, but he was prepared to demonstrate that it had 
grown out of prejudice ; was based upon prejudice; made 
its appeal to prejudice; and could not exist were the 
prejudice against the colored man conquered. It had, 
moreover, made an appeal to the fears and cupidity of the 
slaveholder; by setting forth, that in its operations, it 
would remove from the Southern states the most danger- 
ous portion of the free population; and also enhance the 
value of the slaves left remaining in the country. The 
doctrines found pervading the publications of the society 
were of the most absurtl and anii-cliristiaii character. 
He would mention three, viz. : 1st, that Africa and not 
America was the true and appropriate home of the col- 
ored man ; 2dly, that prejudice against color was invin- 
cible, and the elevation of the colored man therefore, 
while in America, beyond the reach of humanity, legisla- 
tion, and religion ; and, 3dly, that there should be no 
emancipation except for the purpose of colonization. How 
truly monstrous were these doctrines ! How calculated 
to cripple exertion, to retard freedom, and mark the col- 
ored man out as a foreigner and alien, to be driven out of 
the country as soon as the means for his removal were 
provided. Such had really been the effect of the society's 
views upon the public mind in America. If the colored man 
was to be expatriated because his ancestors were Africans, 
then let General Jackson be sent to Ireland, because his 
parents were Irish ; and Mr. Van Buren be sent to Hol- 
land because his ancestors were Dutch ; and let the same 
rule be applied to all the other white inhabitants of the 
country. Then would Great Britain, and France, and 
Germany, and Switzerland recover their children; Amer- 
ica be delivered of her conquerors, and the red man come 
forth from the wilds and the wilderness of the back coun- 
try, to enjoy in undisturbed security, the soil from which 
his ancestors had been driven. Mr. Breckinridge had 
said much respecting his (Mr. T.'s) presumption in bring- 
ing forward a resolution in Boston, so strongly condemn- 
ing the measiu-es and principles of the Colonization So- 
ciety. He (Mr. T.) might be permitted to say, that ifhe 
had acted presumptuously, he had also acted boldly and 
honestly; and that the auditory should know, that the 
resolution referred to, had been debated for one entire 
evening, and from half-past nine till half-past one, the 
next day, with the Rev. R. R. Gurley, the Secretary and 
agent of the Colonization Society, who, for eight or nine 
years had been the Editor of the African Repository, and 
was, perhaps, better qualified than any other man in the 
United States, to discuss the subject — always, of course, 
excepting his Rev. opponent then on the platform. He 
admitted the resolution u^as strongly worded; that it re- 
pudiated the society as unrighteous, unnatural, and pre- 
scriptive; and declaVed the efforts then making to give 
strength and permanency to the institution were a fraud 
upon the ignorance, and an outrage upon the intelligence 
and luimanity of the community. But this country should 
know that he had defended his propositions face to face, 
with one of the ablest champions of the cause, before two 
American audiences in the city of Boston. That the as- 
sembly then before him might judge of the character of the 
debate, and know its result, he would read a few short 
extracts, taken from a respectable daily paper, published 
in Boston, and entirely unconnected with the abolitionists. 
The Editor himself, 'B. F. Hallett, Esq., reported the 
proceedings, and thus remarked : — 

' One of the most interesting, masterly, and honorable 
discussions ever listened to in this communily.took place on 
Friday evening and Saturday Morning. The hall was as 
full as it could hold. >* * # # The whole 
discussion was a model for courtesy and christian temper 
in like cases, and did great credit to all parlies concern- 



38 



Third Night- 



■ Wednesday — Mr. Thomjyson. 



cd. We quc'siion if a puMic debate w.is ever conducted 
in Ihis ciiy with a beiier spirit, and wiili more aliiiity. 
'J'liere was not a discourleous word passed llirougli ilie 
wliole, nnd no occurrence wliich. for an instant, marred 
the entire cordiality, with which the dispute was conduct- 
ed. Il was not men hut principles that were contending, 
and wc venture to say, that no public discussion was ever 
nianaged on higher grounds, or was more deeply interest- 
ing 1<> an auilience. The resolution was put, all present 
being invited to vole. It was carried in the affirmative, 
Willi FOUR, voices in the negative.' So said the ' BOB- 
'JOx\ DAILY ADVOCATE.' 

The following extracts from the published addresses of 
some of the most eminent and gifted supporters of the Col- 
onization Society, would show, that the compulsory re- 
moval of the colored population had from the first been 
contemplated. If it was replied, ' you cannot find com- 
pulsion in the constitution,' He (Mr. T.) would rejoin, 
no, but herein consists the wickedness and hypocrisy of the 
scheme; that while it puis forth a fair face fn its constitu- 
tion, does really, and in truth, contain the elements of all 
oppression. The written constitution of the society was 
but the robe of an angel, covering an implacable and de- 
vouring demon. He would make another remark also be- 
fore submitting the extracts in his hand. Mr. Breckin- 
ridge had Ktrenuouslv endeavored to lay the guilt of the 
oppressive laws in the South upon the abolitionists, de- 
claring that those laws had resulted from the spread of 
anti-slavery principles. From the passages about to be 
cited, and more especially from the words of Mr. Clay, it 
would be found that long prior to the * quackery ' of the 
abolitionists, there had existed harsh and cruel laws, call- 
ing forth the regrets and censures of slaveholders them- 
selves. Even admitting the truth of what Mr. B. had said, 
did it follow that the truth should not therefore ha publish- 
ed 1 By no means. The Israelites in their bondage mur- 
mured against the measures of him whom God had raised 
tip to deliver them, and complained that their burdens had 
i-ncreased since Pharaoh had been remonstrated with. He 
would quote for the benefit of Mr. B. a very laconic re- 
mark by an old commentator ; — • When the bricks are 
doubled, Moses is near.' 

' 1. Charles Carrol Harper, .son of General Harper, to 
Ihe voters of Baltimore, 182G. Af. Rep'y, vol. 2. page 
188. ' For several years the subject of abolition of slave- 
ry has been brought before you. lam decidedly oppos- 
ed to th*^ project recommended. No scheme of abolition 
will meet my support, that leaves the emancipated 
blacks among us. Experience has proved lliat ihoy be- 
come a corrupt and degraded class, as burthensome to 
themselves, as they are hurlful lo the rest of society.' 

Again, page 189. 'To permit the blacks to remain 
amongst us, after their emancipation, would be to aggra- 
vate and not lo cure the evil.' 

2. Exlracied with approbation from the public lege'r, 
Riclimond, Indiana, Af. Rep^'., vol.3, page 2(>. 'We 
would sa^', liberate them cnl}' ou condition of their going' 
to Africa, or Hayli.' 

3. Extracts from an address delivered at Springfield be- 
fore ihe Hampden Coioiiizntiou Sociely. July 4lh, 1828. 
By Wm. B. O. Peabody, Esq., published by request of 
the Sociely. Af. Repy., vol. 4, page 22G. 'I am not 
complaining of the owners of slaves ; they cannot get rid 
of them ; il would be as humane to throw thein from ihe 
decks in the middle passage, as to set them free in our 
country.' Upon which the following eulogy is pronounc- 
ed, page 280. ' We nt^cd hardly' .say that Mr. Peabody's 
Address is an p,\cellent one. May ils sjiiril universally 
pervade and animate the minds of our countrymen.' 

4. Exlracls from an Address lo the Colonization Soci- 
ety of Kentucky, at Frankfort, Dec. 17th, 1829, by the 
Hon. Henry Clay. Af Repy.. vol. 6, page 5. 'If the 
fjueslion was pubmillcd, wlielher there should be cither 



immediate or gradual emancipation of all the slaves !n 
ihc United Stales, without their removal or colonization, 
painful as il is lo express the opinion, I have no doubt 
that It would be unwise to emancipate them. For I be- 
lieve, that the aggregate of the evils which would be en- 
gendered in sociely, upon the supposition of such gen- 
eral emancipation, and of the liberated slaves remaining 
promiscuously among us. would be greater than all the 
evils of slavery, great as they unquestionably are.' 

Again, page 12. 'Is there no remedy, I again ask, for 
Ihe evils of which I have sketched a faint and imperfect 
picture ? Is our posterity doomed to endure forever, not 
only all the ills flowing from ihe stale of slavery, but all 
which arise from incongruous elements of population, 
separated from each other by invincible prejudices and 
by natural causes ? Whatever maybe the characler of 
the remed_v proposed, wc may confidently pronounce it in- 
adequate, unless it provides efficaciously for the total and 
absolute separation, by an extensive space of water or of 
land, at least of the while portion of our population from 
that which is free of the colored.' 

5. Exlracls from the speech of Geo. Washington Park 
Curtis, at the 14th annual meeting of the American Col- 
onization Sociely. Af. Repy., vol. C, page 371—2. 
Some benevolent minds, in the overflowings of their phil- 
anthropy, advocate amalgamation of the two classes, 
saying let the colored class be freed, and remain among 
IIS as denizens of the empire ; surel3' all classes of mankind 
are alike descended from the primitive parentage of 
Eden, then why not intermingle in one common society 
as friends and brothers. No, sir; no. I hope lo prove 
al no very distant day. that a Southron can make sacri- 
fices for the cause of (Colonization beyond seas, but for a 
Home department in those mailers. I repeal, no, sir ; no. 
What right, I demand, have the children of Africa lo an 
homestead in the while man's country ? 

If. as is most true, llie crimes of the while man robbed 
Africa of her sons, let atonement be made by returning 
the descendants of the slolen lo ihe clime of their an- 
cestors, and Ihen all the claims of redeeming justice will 
have been discharged. There let centuries of future 
rights, atone for centuries of past wrongs. Let the re- 
generated African rise to empire; nay, lei genius flour- 
ish, and philosophy shed ils mild beams lo enlighten and 
instruct the posterity of Ham, returning 'redeemed and 
disenthralled ' from Iheir long captivity in Ihe new worhL 
Bui, sir, be all these benefits enjoyed l)y t!ie African race 
under Ihe shade of their native palms. Lei the Allantic 
billow heave ils high and everlasling barrier between 
their country and ours. I^el this fair land, which Ihe 
while man won by Iiis chivalry, which he has adorned by 
the arts and elegances of polished life, be kept sacred for 
his descendants, untarnished by the foolprint of him who 
halh ever been a slave.' 

G. Mr. Henr^' Clay's speech, before the Sociely, Jan- 
uary Isi, 1818 — 2d Ani.ual Report, page 110. ' Further, 
several of the slaveho'diiig slates had, and perhaps all of 
them would, prohil'it entirely, emancipalion. without 
some such outlet was created. A sense of their own 
safety required liie painfid prohibiiinn. Experience 
proved that persons turned loose, who were neither free- 
men nor slaves, constituted a great moral evil, threaten- 
ing lo conlamiraie all parts of sociely. l,et Ihe colony 
once be successfully planted, and legislative bodies, who 
have been grieved at the necessity of passing those 'pro- 
hibitory laws,' which al a distance mighl appear lo ' slain 
our codes,' will hasten lo remove the impediments to the 
exercise ofbenevolence and luimaniiy. They will annex 
the cond'lion that the emancipated shall leave llie coun- 
try, and he has place<l a false estimate upon liberty, who 
believes thai lliere are many who would refuse the boon, 
when coupled even with such a condilion.' 

Here there was compulsion, both in principle and pre- 
cept. In the laws of Maryland, and el.^e where, .were 
found abundant evidence of compulsion in practice, and 



Third Night — JVecbicsday — Mr. Thompson. 






A\liere there were no direct acts forcing them to depart, 
a public gentiment luiil ht-cn created, which in its mani- 
fold operation?, hrouglit the colored man, crushed and hope- 
lesii, to the coiiclufiou, that it would be better for him to 
say farewell to home and country, than remain a proverb 
and a nuisance amongst a prejudiced and persecuting peo- 
ple. No colored man could justly be said to go to Libe- 
ria or elsewiierc, with his free and unconstrained consent, 
until the laws were e(|ual; the treatment kind ; prejudice 
founded on complexion destroyed; and he presented him- 
self a voluntary agent, and asked the means to transport 
him to a foreign shore. As one proof that compulsion 
had been o|H;nly and unblushingly advocated, he would 
•piote the words of Mr. liroudnax, in the Virginia House 
of Delegates : — 

' It is idle to talk about not resorting to force, every 
body must look to the iiuroducliou of lorce of some kind 
or other— and it is in iruih a question of expediency, of 
moral justice, of political good faith — whether we shall 
fairly delineate our whole system on the face of the bill, 
or leave the acquisition of extorted consent to other pro- 
cesses. The real question, the only question of magni- 
tude to be settled, is the great preliminary question — Do 
you intend to send the free persons of color out of Vir- 
ginia, or not f 

' It the free negroes are willing to go, they will go — 
if not willing they must be compelled to go. Some gen- 
tlemen think It politic not now to insert this feature in the 
bill, though iliey proclaim their readiness to resort lo it 
when it becomes necessary ; they think that for a year or 
two a sutlicient number will consent lo go, and then the 
rest can be compelled. For my part, I deem it belter to 
approach the question and settle it at once, and avow it 
openly. 

' 1 have already expressed it as ray opiaion, that few, 
very few, will voluniarily consent to emigrate, if no 
COMPULSORY measure be adopted. 

' I will not express, ill iis full extent, the idea I enter- 
tain of what has been done, or what enormities will be 
perpetrated to induce this class of persons lo leave the 
state. Who does not know that when a free negro, by crime 
or otherwise, has rendered himself obnoxious to a neigh- 
borhood, how easy is it for a party to visit him one night, 
take him from his bed and family, and apply to him the 
gentle admonition of a SEVERE FLAGELLATION, 
to induce him to consent to go away ? In a few nights 
the dose can be repeated, perhaps increased, until, in the 
language of the physicians, quantum suff. has been ad- 
ministered to produce the desired operation j and the fel- 
low then becomes PERFECTLY WILLING to piove 
away.' 

Finally, on this part of the subject he would cite the 
Rev. R. J. IJreckinridge, who, at the annual meeting of 
the American Colonization Society, in 1S34, had used the 
following language : — 

' Two years ago, I warned the managers of ihe Virgin- 
ia business, and yet they sent out TWO SHIP LOADS 
.OF VAGABONDS, not fit to go to such a place, and 
ithey were COERCED away as truly as if it had been done 
»vith a CAR r WHIP.' 

ijis grand complaint against the Colonization Society, 
was this — that, instead of grappling with tiie reigning pre- 
judiced of the community, it falsely assumed the invinci- 
biliiy of those prejudices, and proceeded to legislate ac- 
cordingly. They thus sanctioned and perpetuated the 
greatest source of sufieriug and ivrong to the colored pop- 
ulation. The prejudice against the people of color had 
greatly increased Eince tlie tbrniation of the societv. The 
j)resent supporters of the society were those who thor'- 
oughly loathed die free people of color, and the most cruel 
•and sanguinary opponents of tlie aboliiiouists, were tlic 
boistsfjou; defenders of the Amfricau Culooizatiou Society. 



For example — when a mob assailed the inhabiianis in 
New York — broke up tlieir meetings — assaulted their per- 
sons, and sacked the lnuise of Mr. Lewis Tap[)nii — iliat 
mob could, ill the midst of their niflian-like, :iiid feloni- 
OM.'? exploits, most unaniinou.sly and heartily shout ' three 
cheers lor llie Colonii;atinn Socitly,' and 'a«ay with the 
niggers.' In travelling in stpamboats and stage-coaches, 
he (.Mr. Thompson) hud invariably found that his most 
furious and malignant opponents, and the niost determined 
haters of the black man, were loud in their profession of 
attachment to the princijilcs and plans of the society. 
\\hy had not the wise and benevolent members of the so- 
ciety denounced that prejudice ] Because the best among 
them were themselves partakers of that prejudice. It waa 
evident from all that Mr. Breckinridge had said, that he 
was deeply imbued with that prejudice. It gave tone and 
color, and direction to all his remarks. Such men mii^ht 
profess to love the black man, but they \ver« likelv to^be 
suspected of insincerity, when they uniformly niHiiifested 
their love by driving the object of it as far away as pos- 
sible. Such a mode of expressing love was contrary to 
all our ideas of the natural manifestations of that feelin". 
If the Colonization Society was indeed so full of benev- 
olence and mercy, how was it that its character was so 
misunderstood by the colored people, for whose special 
benefit it had been originated ] Surely they were likely 
to be the best judges of its efiect upon' their welfare and 
happiness. What was the fact 1 The entire free colored 
population of the United States were opposed to the ex- 
patriating project. But his opponent would say it was 
owing to the abuse poured upon the society by the foul- 
mouthed abolitionists. He (Mr. T.) should, however, 
deprive the gentleman of this refuge, by laying before 
the meetinga very interesting fact which would at once show 
the feelings of the colored people when the plan was first 
submitted to them. It would show that in a meeting of 
three thousand, convened in the city of Philadelphia, to 
decide whether the society should or should not receive 
their countenance, they decided against it without a dis- 
sentient voice. He would lay before them a letter written 
by a highly respectable, enlightened and wealthy gentleman 
of color in Philadel[)hia — 31r. James Forten. The letter 
was written to the Editor of the New England Spectator, 
in consequence of a remark made by Mr. Gurlev, durino 
the debate in Boston : ' " 

Philadelphia, June 10th, 1835. 

Rev. W. B. Porter,— Deat Sir,— I cheerfully comply 
with ihe request contained in your note of the 3d. insi. 
to give you a brief statement of a meeting held in 1817,' 
by the people of color in this cily, to express their opinion 
on the Liberia project. It was the largest meeting of col- 
ored persons ever convened in Philadelphia, I will say 
3,0*00, though I might safely add 500 more. To show you 
the deep interest evinced, this large assemblage remained 
in almost breathless and fixed altention, duriii" the read- 
ing of the resolutions and other business of the meeiin» • 
and when the que<-tioii was put in ihc affirmative, you 
might have heard a pin drop, so profound was the silence. 
But when in the negative, one long, loud, aye, tremend- 
ous NO, from this vast audience, seemed as if it would 
bring down the walls of the building. Never did there 
appear a more unanimous opinion. Every heart seemed 
lo feel that it was a life and death question. Yes, even then 
at the very onset, when the monster came in a "uise lo 
deceive some of our firincst friends who hailed it as the 

dawning of a brighter day for our oppressed race, even 

then we penetrated through its thickly-laid coverino-, and 
beheld it prospectively as the scourge which in after 
years was to grind us to the earlh, and by a series of un- 
relenting persecution, force us iiilo involuntary exile. 

I was not a little surprised lo loam that Mr. Gurley pro- 
fesseil to be ignorant of this fact ; For in the African Re- 
pository he reviewed Jlr. Garrison's Thoughts on Afiicatj 



40 



Third Night — Wednesday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



Colonization ; and a wlinic chapter of the work, if I mis- 
take not, is taken up witii the sentiments of iho people of 
color on colonization, coininencin<^ with the Thiladelphia 
meeting. I'crliaps Mr. GurJey ilid not read tliat cliajjter. 
But if liis memory is not very treacherous, he ought to 
have known the circumstance, for 1 related it to him my- 
self in a conversation which I had witii him at my house 
one evening in company wiih the Rev. Robert J. Breck- 
inridge and our beloved friend, William Lloyd Garrison. 
The subject of colonization was warmly discussed ; and 
I well recollect bringing our meeting of 1817 forward as 
a proof of our early and decided opposition to the meas- 
ure. No doubt Mr. Garrison also remembers it. 

Three meetings were held Uy us in 1817. The two first 
you will find in the ' Thoughts on Colonization,' part 2d, 
page 9. Of the protest and remonstrance adopted at the 
third meeting, 1 send you an exact copy. It is in answer 
to an address to the citizens of NewYork and Philadelphia, 
calling upon them to aid a number of persons of color, 
whom they said were anxious to join the projected colo- 
ny in Africa. Those persons were mostly- from liie South, 
and it was to disabuse the public mind on the subject, 
thai our meeting was held. 

I remain, with great respect, 

Yours, J.VMES FORTEN. 

He [Mr- T.] could pledge himself that such were still 
the feelings of the free colored people of America. 
Wherever they possessed a glimmering of light upon the 
subject, they utterly abhorred the Society, and would as 
soon consent to be cut to pieces as sent to any of the col- 
onies prepared for their reception. Was it not then too 
bad that christians should be called upon to support a So- 
ciety so utterly at variance with the wishes and feelings of 
the parties most nearly concerned ^ As a few moments 
yet remained he would occupy it in quoting the opinions 
of two gentlemen — Ministers of religion, and standing 
liiTh in their own country — who had furnished )amcutal)lc 
evidence of the extent to which prejudice might pos.sess 
otherwise strong and enlarged minds. The first ([notation 
was from a report of a Committee at the Theological 
Seminary at Andover, Rlassachusetts, presented to the 
Colonization Society of that Institution in 1823. It was 
from the pen of the Rev. Leonard Bacon ; now pastor of 
a Congregational Church at New Haven, Connecticut. 

" The Soodra is not farther separated from the Brah- 
min, in regard to all his privileges, civil, intellectual, and 
moral, than the negro is from the white man, by the preju- 
dices which result from the difference made between ihcm 
by the God of nature. A barrier more difficult to bo sur- 
mounted than the institution of the Caste, cuts olT, and 
while the present slate of society continues, must always 
cutoff, the negro from all thai is valuable in citizenship." 

The other was hisopponent on that platform ; who, in a 
letter to the New York Evangelist, had said, that emanci- 
pation, to be followed by amalgamation at the option of 
the parties would be reckless wickedness. But lest he 
should misrepresent tiiat gentleman, he would turn to the 
paper and quote the passage cited. 

"I know that any abolition without the consent of the 
States holding the slaves, is impossible ; that to obtain 
this consent on any terms, is very difficult ; — that to obtain 
it without the prospect of extensive removal by coloniz- 
ation is impossible; that to obtain it instantly on any 
terms, is the dream of ignorance; that to expect it in- 
stantly with subsequent equality, is frantic nonsense; 
and that to demand it, as an instant right irrespective of 
consequences, and to be followed by amalgamation at the 
option of the parties, is RECKLESS WICKEDNESS!"' 

All the alarm created on the subject of amalgamation 
was totally unfounded. The views of the abolitionists 
were simple and scriptural. They held that there should 
be no distinctions on account of color. Tliat to treat a 



man with coldness, unkindness, or contempt, on account 
of his complexion, was to quarrel with the maker of ua 
all. They held that this prejudice should be given up ; 
and the colored man be treated as a white man, according 
to his intellect, morality, and fitness for the duties of civil 
life. They did not interfere with those tastes by which 
human beings were regulated in entering into the nearest 
and most permanent relations of life. They confined 
themselves to the exhibition of gospel truth upon the sub- 
ject, and left it to an overruling and watchful providence 
to guard and control the conse(|uences sjiringing from a 
faithfiil and fearless discharge of duty. Mr. Tliompson 
concluded by observing, that he considered the readiest 
way to make men curse their existence, and thcir God, 
was to oppress and enslave them on account of that com- 
plexion, and those peculiarities, which the creator of the 
world had stamped upon them. 

Mil. BRECKLNUIDGE said he would commence 
w ith a slight allusion to two references which had been 
made to iiimself by Mr. Thom])son. And in regard to 
certain passages which had been read from speeches ol liis, 
be would only say that he had never written or uttered a 
single word on tiiis subject which he world not rtjoice to 
see laid before the British public. But he had a right to 
complain of the manner in which these passages had been 
(pioted. It was not fair, he contended, to break down a 
passage and read only half a sentence, passing over the 
other half because it would not answer tho purpose of the 
reader, in fact, because it would alter the sense of the 
passage altogether. He charged IMr. T. with having 
been guilty of this in the last (piotation which he had 
made, and in order to show the true meaning of the gar- 
bled pas.sage he would read it as it stood: — [Sec the pas- 
sage as it appears in Mr. T.'s .speech.] He had read thi.^ 
the more particularly in order to show the consistency of 
his present opinions with those which he had held and ut- 
tered two years ago. They would now perceive, he said, 
that when the sentence was given entire, he said, that 
setting the slaves free without reference to consequences, 
constituted a material, and an omitted part of that pro- 
cedure which lie had characterised as reckless wickedness, 
whereas by breaking it up in the middle, he was made to 
say that to permit voluntary amalgamation after instant 
abolition, was by itself to be so considered. He was now 
ready to defend this statement, as he had at first made it. 
The next thing he would refer to was the report of a 
speech which he (Mr. B.) had delivered at an annual 
meeting of the American Colonization Society. And 
with regard to it, if he was in America, he would say de- 
cidedly that it was not a fair report: that it was an unfair 
report', got up by Mr. Leavitt, the Editor of the New 
York Evangelist, to serve a special purpose. He would 
not deny that he had said something which might give a 
pretext for the report. He had charged the parent socie- 
ty with having been guilty of a gross dereliction of duty 
to the Colony and tho cause, in sending away two shijis 
cargoes of negroes to Liberia, who were not fit for that 
place, and he believed that those two expeditions had done 
much to injure the colony itself, as well as to impair public 
confidence in the firmne'ss and judiciousness of the parent 
board. Thev were emigrants unfit to be sent out— the 
refuse of thc'counties around S. Hampton in Virginia-— 
who were hurried out bv the violent state of jiublic senti- 
ment in that region, after the insurrection and mag.=acre 
there. Like a man conscious of rectitude, he had gone to 
the very parties concerned, and declared his grounds of 
complaint: a line of conduct he could not too often com- 
mend to !\Ir. Thompson, and no proof could be more con- 
clusive than this anecdote afibrded— that the active friends 
of Colonization in America, however they might differ 
about details, meant kindly by the blacks, and by Africa. 
Mr. B. again expressed his surprise that Mr. Thompson 
should occupy the time of the meeting by repeating Ins 
own speeches. He had adverted t9 this matter before, he 



Tfdrd Night — Wednesday — Mr. Breckinridge. 41 

said, and ns Iio was in a poor state of licaltli, nnil liad Blatcd in gnneral tnrms wliat he understood thoni to lie. 
work el^ewllpro, and as (Ikm-r was nincli giuimd yet to go Tlio groat iilijcrt of these laws was said to be the driving 
over, and Mr. T. deelared ids materials to he nio.*t ahnn- ont of the fiee hlacks fioni tiie ytate of IMar3'land. Now, 
dant, he tlioiij;ht tiioso repetitions might iiave Iiren spared, tliat the niiNins taken to promote this end were not 
They who took the trouble to read the published speeeh- of that griudinn and ini(|uitons character whicdi IMr. 
cs of this gerilliMnao, wo(dd find that, however exhauslless 'J'hoinpscni had represented them as being, would be snffi- 
miglit be the boasted stores of his facts, proofs, and illus- cieutly obvious to the meeting, wlien it was considereil 
trations, about what he called 'American slavery,' he that in the stale there were three times the ninnber of free 
was exceedln^rly economical of ihem. After reading six persons of cidor, that were to be found in the majority of 
or seven of them, he found them so very like each (<ther, the free stales, und considerably more tiiaii there were in 
that the same stones, in the same order, and the same any other state in the Union. If the laws were found 
illustrations, in the same se(iuence, and the same unfound- nnne op|n-essive in Maryland, how diil it come tlial the free 
ed charges, in the same terms of unmeasured billerness, blactks congregited there from all parts of A nieiica ■? Or, 
may l)e often expected, and never in vain. Indeed so il they were sec free by the people so nuicli op|)osed to 
meagre was his supply of wit even, that it also went on their increase, why did tlicy not lather go to Pennsylva- 
very few changes. The whole case exhibited a most nia, wliich was separated trom Maryland only by an im- 
strikiiig illustration of tiie truth lUlered in a jiersonal aginary line ; and where free blaidxs enjoyed almost the 
sense by one of their own statesmen and scholars, and now same righls as white men '! J5nt again, it was said that 
proved to be of general application, namely, thai when u the colonizaticm scheme was a« awfully wicked scheme, 
man resorted to his memmy for his jokes, it was very because it sought to prevent the increase of free persons of 
probable that he would draw upon his imagination for his color in JIaryland. JJut if this were a grievous sin, were 
facts. As he (Mr. B.) had been so often asked to pro- the |)oople of Great Brtiain not equally guilty in sending 
dnce certain placards for the purpose ot substantiating away out of the country ship loads of paupers — free 
some of his statements, there could be no better connec- whites to other parts of the glolie, in order to prevent the 
tion in wdnch to call upmi Mr. Thompson to bring for- increase of pauperism in this country 1 Why had not 
ward proof of those charges which he brought against this branch ofthe subject been adverted to by Mr. 'J'hoinp- 
certain persons and classes of persons, unless he wished sou ? Why had he not, in the [jaroxysms of his infuriat- 
the world to believe that he had brougiu those charges ed eloquence while abusing the American colonizationists, 
without having a single iota of evidence on whicdi to not included the Iving and Parliament of Britain for 
found them. He would call upon -Mr. Thompson to bring allowing the existence of laws, or if there be no such law, 
forward his proofs in support of all those charges, those for a practice rife in England cjf expatriating thousands of 
reckless and extravagant charges wiiich he la-ought against paupers, not only by contributions, but at the public ex- 
ihe minister of religion in America. Mr. ThoiKpson had pense. He would be told that the paupers were sent away 
stood before several London audiences with a runaway to distant parts o( the globe where they would be more 
slave fioin America, who charged certain individuals wiih comfortable in every respect than they were at present, 
unparalelled cruelty ! Amongst other things, with burning And had Mr. T. bowels of compassion only for the black 
a slave alive; a matter to wliich Mr. T's attention had in man] Is it lawful to export a white man against his 
vain been called, and his proofs demanded. He woukl will, at the pul)lic charge ; while it is unlawful to export 
take no further notice of the gross things Jie had uttered a black mim with his free consent by private benevidencel 
of the President of the United States than to say, that if Is America so detestable a place, tiiat England may law- 
he (Mr. B.) could condescend to imitate his conduct and fully make her the receptacle of the refuse of the ()oor- 
ntter ribaldrous things of the King of Great Britain, he houses of the realm ; while Africa is so sacred a place, that 
should richly deserve to be turned with contempt out of no one that can even do her good is to be permitted to go 
his sacred place. He would then proceed with his re- there from America — if his skin be dark 1 May Britain 
marks on the Maryland colonization scheme. They say, she has more paupers than she can support— and so 
had been told by Mr. T. that the object of the Mary- make it stale policy to force emigration from Ireland, by 
land society, was compulsory expatriation as a con- a system which makes a quarter of the people there beg bread 
dition precedent to freedom, ^^'hen proof of this was eight months out of twelve, — and produces inexpressdjle 
required, he could bring none; and wlieii he (Mr. B.) had distress; and yet is Maryland to be precluded, on any ac- 
showed that it was not so, but that its object was of un- count or upon any terms from seeking the diminution, or 
mixed good to the blacks, an object accomplished as to rather preventing the dispro[)intionate increase — id a pop- 
many, on their showing, in the proof produced ; BIr. ulation, anomalous, and dilticult of proper regulation ? 
Thompson turned round and said, that it was entirely con- He should be most happy to receive an expianation of 
trary to his preconceived notions and repeated statements, these strange contradictions ! Th(!re Wiis anoilier feature of 
and must be false ! But facts are better than notions and the Maryland laws, which he might mention, which for- 
stalements both. And what were the facts in the present bade the emigration of slaves into Maryland, exen along 
easel Why, that on the one hand, Mr. 'I'liouipson as- with their owners. JMr. Thompson had prudently oniit- 
serts that no slave can be nianuniitted in Maryland, ex- ted all notice of that enactment, while he had said a great 
cept he will instantly depart the country. Whereas, deal about the registration office persons of color, as if 
Messrs. Harper, Howard, ami Hoffman assert in an offi- it were a most intolerable hardship. He (Mr. B.) was 
cial report, on the 31st of last December, that 299 mann- unable to see in what respect the great 'hardship consisted, 
missions within the state had been officially reported lo VVas not every freeholder in tJiis country registered ? Bui 
them within a year; and 1101 within four years. At the the free black was not allowed to leave the state of Mary- 
same moment I have produced a record of the very names land without giving notice, it was said. There was noth- 
and periods of emigration, of 14-0, bond and free, all told ing very oppressive in all that. It was no worse interfer- 
wdio, within the same four years, under the action of the ence on ilie part of the government, than lor the King of 
very law.<! in (piestion, had gone from the state; admitting Great Britain to say to his suljects, you must return home 
half of whom to be of those particular manumitted slaves, under certain contingencies; you shall imt dwell in par- 
there would be left 1021 more of them to prove that Mr., icular places, nor fight for certain nations. AVere thegovern- 
T. either totally misunderstood, or mis-stated that of which ment of America, because they were republic.uis, not to have 
he aftirms — either way, his assertions are demonstrated to the power which other nations had, of controlling the 
lie untrue. As to the laws of Maryland, of which, men- action of that portion of their population, whose movements 
tion had been made, he had not secii llieni since his visit must be regarded by all who regarded die peace of society 
to Boston two \cars ago, and in adverting to them he had or ihe public good, lie admitted llmt some of the laws in 

G 



42 



Third ^tght — Wednesday — Mr. Brtckinridge. 



Fpvcral Plates were hnf] and Fovere in rofcrrnre to tlie 
free coloreil pnpulaiicjti, hiil whili- lie said mi, it wa? Init 
fair to add, tliat he considiMPd tlie conduct of the alxdi- 
tionii^ts, in sprcadini^ tlicir new f.ingled imtinni!, Iiad 
done tniicli to alter these laws for llie w.ir.-c. In many in- 
Ftatices the had laws had hecoinn worfC, and g )od laws 
had hccoine bad, solely through the imprudent conduct of 
Mr. Tliun)psf)n's a.-isociaies. And this specifK; lawof reg- 
istration— and loss of riyht of residence liy removal f>r 
nny C()n?ideral)le time out of the slate; was oln ioiisly 
intcndcrl to prevent free persons of cidur from going out 
and becoming imbued with false and bloody theories, and 
then returning to disturb the public peace. The law Ba_\g 
to them abiile at home — or if you prefer it depart and find 
a home more to ymir mind. 15ut if yuu en, prudence re- 
finesls us to prnhdiil your return. Mr. 'I's cninplainis of 
this enactment, showed how necessary it wa? to have inaile 
it. In conclusion, he would recommend to IMr. Thimip- 
Fon, .'■hould he ever return lo America, he need not be so 
tremendously prudent in regani to his person il safely, il 
lie would just not lie so tremendously imprudent in the 
principleii and proceedings h(» advocated and the state- 
ments he made with regard to the conduct of the .American 
people, lie hail now gone oxer the assertions o( Mr. 
J'liompson, regardin:; the .Marxland cidoni/alion scheme, 
;»nd he trusted h»> had shown the unfounded nature ofihose 
assertions. And all that had been said hy Mr. T. us (o 
the principles and objects <if the coloni/ationists, and ih^ 
scope and influence of their course, had nu other proof 



tbtn tlie writings of those persims, who for some years 
had firmed a very small portion of tlie supporters of 
this great interest; and, who, without escepti>m, belonged 
to those dasse.s, who at first, as had already been admit- 
te.l, supported It, fir re.isons, some of wh.ch were entire- 
ly political, others perhaps severe to the slaves, and oth- 
ers imju.-t and inconsiderate toward the free blacUs. But 
that (lirectly opposite views, statements, and arguments, 
Could be more ainpiv procured from the still greater, and 
still proportionately incieasing parly, who support this 
cause, a.-i a great, benevolj-ni, and leliaiou." operation — 
must l>e perfectly known to tlie individual himself. If he 
mbnil this, said .Mr. 15.. it will show his present course to 
be ol the 8 line iincandid ki'id with all the reft of his con- 
duct towards America in selecting what answered his pur- 
pose; that always being the worse thing he c iild find — 
and representing it us a fair sample <d' all. It will do 
more, it will show that what he calls proof is no proof at 
all. IjiM. if he denies my repeated represenialions ns to 
the various cl.is.'>es (d the original supporters of the parent 
society, an I the present stale of them, I nin equally con- 
tent; ns in that CAi'e, all America would have n lair cri- 
terion by which to lest his slalemenls. .As lo the Mnry- 
biiil plan, and lliat pursued by the unileil so<ielies of 
I'hiladelphi I and .New York. — if they ha\e any siijiport- 
ers except such as love the cause of the black man, of 
temperance and of peace — the world bus yet to find it out, 
I'hc tiiue being £.\pired M. U. sut down. 



DISCUSSION. 

FOURTH NIGFIT— THURSDAY, JUNE 15'. 



Mn. THOMPSOIV said that Ijefore proceeding to tlie he iinist, therefore, abundantly support them by incnntro-- 

si\l>ject decided upon for that evening's discussicn, he must verlihle evidenee, or stand Ijianded before the world a'3 

injustice to himself and hid cause, offer a remark or the worst foe of human freedom— the foul calunmiator of 

two. He iiad on the previous evening been struck with the friemls and advocates of the oppressed, the sufferings, 

surprise at the exliaordiaary injustice of cliargin;; him and the dund). 

(Mr. T.) with qucjling unfairly from tiie letter of Mr. He would lay the principles of the American abolilion- 

Breckinridge in l!u^ l\i_w York Kvanjfelist. It must have ists before the audience in the words of their scdemn and 

beenol)\ious to all, that in the first instance, he qiKJted official documents. He would go back to the couiuience- 

from memory, but nil will recollect that with the avowed ment of the five years mentioned by his opponent, and 

wisii of avoiding misrepresentation, he had gone to his read from the ' Constitution of the New England Anli- 

t^ble — produced the letter, and read the passage entire Slavery Society,' a lucid exposition of tlie principles and 

without the omission or interpolation of a letter or a com- oliJe( ts of the first anti-slavery society, (technically so 

ina. He therefore emphatically denied the charne of called,) in the United States : — 

earbline. Mr. Breckinriilge did himself, immediately . „, .i j • . i r 1 1 ^i • r rii 

^r ^ 1 1.1 J ..„ 1 •,„..„-: 1,-, \.i 'We, the undersisned, hold that every person of full 

afterwart s, read the passaue, ann read it precisely (is lie ? ■,,'•! • j- • ' r j r 

,\t -i-i VI 1 \-. '11, ■ . .• ,1, . r ,.„ ase and sane miiid, has a right to immediate freedom from 

(Mr. 1 hcunpsim had read It. I he iinpulatinii tln-retore, "^^ ,, , .• , i- j i • ^ ^i 

^ I, ;• ,1 1 ,• • ti /M -r \ .... i)ers(ma bondaj/e o whatsoever kind, unless invposecl by 

>vas enually mitnunded and unlaii. He (iMr. I.) was l'"' /^ i ,- i • • r ■ 

, I ,• 1 1 • . I • „ . II , . 1,1 I I. ,1,1 the senteiK'e ol the aw (ir the commissvon ol some crime, 
thank id that his argument needed not such help It would ,,.11,, • . 1 -.i 
L , I -.111 ■ 1, 1 (• . u .,,.,,. We hidi liat man cannot, consistently .with reason, re- 
be as absurd as it would be wu ked !or him to alteinpl to ,. . , , , , . ' , , • • , c- , 

,■ 1 „ 1 i„,i „,„,„„,. „, Iiliiiin, aut the eternal and immutable principles ol justice, 

support his cause by any garbled statement. ^ , ' . f f j ' 

He beiged also that "it might be dislinctlv understood '«: t'-C projierty o inan. .,..,, . , , 

, , ,'*',, r ,„i ,|,„ .•-, ,, •„ I,- We lioi that whoever re atns his feilow-man in bondage, 

that he had by no means exhausted the cMdence in Ins . . ° 

po.=ses.ion on" the subject of coloni/.ation. He could ad- 's auiliy o a grievous vyrong. , • • 

', ., , ■ ■' , I, „ ,1, , „.. • ui,„ii„,„ \\ e h:.d that a mere dilierence of complexion IS no rea- 

duce u thousand times as much as that which had been 1 1 1 1 1 • 1 r r 1 • ,.. 1 

already brought forward. He had much to say idthe col- *^"" "''.^ ='">; l'^^'" ^'"'"''' ''« '',^ I '.''^'^^ ."'/!;' I ''' '"=' ""'"'''' 

ony of Libert. ; the means taken to establish it, the na- rights, or subjected to any political disability. . 

■' ,. , r . .1 1 . f .1 , .1 ^^ lie we advance these opinions as the principles on 

ture o the climate, tlio character ot the eiiiiiiranis, the ... . , ' , 1 , 11 . 

, ,■, , ,, ,,| . 1, ,„ „ I, „ u.. i 1 „„ which we lutein to act, we declare that we will not op- 

iiiortahtv amongst the settlers, how much it liad ilone , . . ' . ,- • . u .1. .1, 

1 .1 ■ 1 ,1, i,,^.,..wU R.„ 1„ c.^t erate on the existing relations ot society by other than 

towards the suppression ot the slave trade, iscc. In lact, . 1 1 r 1 1 .1 . ''11 • „ .. , 

, i • 1 u 1 • 1 neacefu anc awfii means, and that we wi Igive no couii- 

he was nretiared with overwhelming evidence upon every i""^"^"" "■'" • > • <• » , o 

■ 1 <• .1 1- . A . n. , . .,..,. . .„ ;. .,. tenance to vio eiice or insurrection. 

branch ol I le subiect, and was willing to leiuiii to it at ,,,. , , . . r i •„. „ 

r, I I .1 II With thee views, we au^ree to form ourselves >nto a 

any moment, coniident that the aigmnents he could pro- V "" "' ■ ■ '^"^> "^ "1 1 ,1 1 c 1 ;„ ,u„ 

, -" 11,- 1 111 11 . .1 I) society, an( to be oovernec by the rues, specineu in the 

(luce, and the lads In which he could support them, would, •,,"":' '..>'. -i ' ' 

in the estimation of "the public, destroy for ever the claim <^11"" "'§ constitution, vi/..:— 

of the Colonization Society to be considered, a pure. Article 1. The society shall be called the New England 

peaceful or benevolent institution. I now, said (Mr. T.) Anti-Slavery society. 

conve to the topic immediately before us. ^\,.(_ 2. The objects of the society will be to endeavor. 

It rs my solemn responsible duty to bring before you to- jjy, ^|| nieans sanctioned by law, luinianity, and religion, 

ni^ht, the principles and measures of a large, respecia- |q eil'ect the abolition of slavery in the United States, lo 

rable, and powerful body in the United States, known by i,„p,„ve the character and condition of the free people of 

the name of IMP.IEDIATE .ABOLlTIOlMSTS. A cidor, to reform and correct public opinion in relation to 

body of individuals embracing no fewer than ISCO minis- their silualion and rights, and obtain for them e(|ual civil 

ter« of the gospel, and men of llie h'ghest station and .j,„i political rights and privileges with the whites.' 
laiffest attaiuiuents. A bofly of persons who have been , . . i- 1 ivt ,• « 

clKuged upon this platform with being a handful, 'so He would now pass on to the fm-mat.on of the Na lona 

small that they could not obtain their object, and so erro- Anti-Slavery Society, in Dec. 1S33, and submit all thai 

neons (despicable, was I believe, the word used,) as not w^=^ material in the ' Constitution of the American Anti- 

to deserve success.' Charged with being the enemies of Slavery Society. 

the slaveholder — taking him by the throat, and saying, ^^, 9. The object of this? society is tlw entire aboli- 
' you great thieving, man-stealing villain, unless you in- tion of Slavery in the United States. While it admita 
stautly give your slaves liberty, 1 will pitch you out of this ^i^.^^ ^.^^,1, ,st;,,e in which slavery exists Was, by the Con- 
third story window.' Charged with carrying in their _stitulioii of the United Stales, the exilusive right to leg- 
track, a pestilence like a storm of fire and brimsli ne from "ig|,j,g ;„ ie„ard to its abolition in that state, it shall aim 
hell; forc'inii ministers of religion to seek pearelul villa- (o cnnviniiTall our fellow-citizens, by arguments address- 
gcs not yet blasted by it. Charged with saying they were ^ | j,, ,|,^,j,. „nderstaniiings and c.onscien<es, that slave- 
sent from God, when they possessed the fuiy of demons, j,, ,!£];„„ js a heinous crime in the sight of God; and that 

Charged, finally, with having ' thrown the cause of eman- ^r - ... .... 1 ■ .- 

cijiatioii a ' hundred years farther baidc than it via.^ five 



he duty, safety, and best interest of all concernerl, re(|uire 
ts imniediate "abandonment, without expatriation. Tlie 



years as;o.' Thc-^e are fearlul indiclmeiits, and Mr. piicietv will also endeavor, in a Constitutional way, to iii- 

Breckinridge has a weighty duty to fulfil to-night, fir he IS fliK,,,,.^ Congress to put an cn,l to tha domestic >la\s 

bound to sustain them. 'I'hey have been brought by hiirjs-jlf, j, .j,jy . .^^^\ [\, ;iljolis.h slavery in all those portions of oar 
a christian minister, the professed friend of the slave; and ' 



44 



Fourth 



yight- 



■ Thiirsdai/ — Mr. Thompson. 



common country which come under ils control, e^peciaUy 
in the District of Columbia, anil likewise to prevent the 
extension of it to any state that may hereafter be admit- 
ted to tiie Union. 

Art. 3. 'I'll is society shall aim to elevate the character 
and condition of the people of color, by encouraging their 
intellectual, moral, and religious improvement, and by re- 
moving public prejudice; that thus they may, according 
to their intellectual and moral worth, share an ec|ualilv 
with the whites of civil and religious privileges ; but the 
Society will never, in any way, coujilenaiice the oppress- 
ed in vindicating their rights by resorting to physical 
force. 

Art. 4. Any person who consents to the principle" of 
this Constitution, who coiitriliutes to the (\\m\s of this so- 
ciety, and is not a slaveholder, may be a member of tlii:i 
society, and shall be entitled to a vote at ita meetings.' 

He would next read the ' preamble ' to the Con.«tilution 
of the New ILimpshire Stale Anti-Slavery Society : 

' The most high God hath made of one blood all the 
families of man to dwell im the face of all the earth, and 
hath endowed all alike with the same inalienable rights, of 
which are life, liberty and the pursuit of hiippines ; vet 
there are now in this l.iinl, iiKirc than two niillions cjf hu- 
man beings, po.ssessoil of tin; same dcatlilcsi! spirits, anil 
heirs to the i>aiiie immortal hopes and disliiiics with uur- 
cebes, who are, nevertheless, deprived of these their sa- 
cred rights, and kept in the most cruel and abject bond- 
age; a biindaj;e under which Innnan brings are bred and 
fattened for the market, and then bought, sold, morlgag- 
ed, lea.sed, bartered, fetteied, tasked, scourged, beaten, 
killed, Uunteil, even like the verie-'t brutes, — nay, made 
oflen the unw illiii;; victims of ungodly lust; while, at the 
same time, iheir minds are, bv law ami custom, geuL-rally 
shut out from all access to letters, and in various other 
ways all their upward teiiilencies are repressed and crush- 
ed, so as to make their ' moral and religious conilition 
such that they miy justly be considerei ihe heathen nf 
this country;' and since we regard such oppressions as one 
of the greatest wrongs that man can commit again.-t his 
fellow; and existing as it does, and toleraied as it is, un- 
der this free and christian gc)verninent, sapping its foun- 
dation, bringing its instiliitions into conieiiipt among other 
nations, thus retarding the march of lieedo-i an:! relig- 
ion, and strengihening the hands of despotism and irrelig- 
iini throughout the world ; and since we ileein it a duly to 
oursidves, to our government, to the world, to ll»e oppress- 
ed, and to God, to do all we can to end this upprcssiiui, 
and to secure an immediate and entire emaiici|)aiion of 
the oppressed; and b.dieve we can act most ellioionily in 
the cause, in the way of combined and organised action: — 
Therefore, we, the undersigned, do form uiirselved into a 
society for the purpose.' 

If there was any thing for which the abolitionisls as a 
body were jicculiarly distinguished, it was for their per- 
fect uiiifonnily of sentiments upon all great points con- 
nected with the general i|uestion of skuery. 'J'liis was 
attributable to the clearness ami fullness w ilh whiidi the 
principles of the society had been enunciaied. INOl so 
with the Colonization Socii;ly. Vou (juoted the language 
of the most eminent of it supporters but were immediaiely 
told iliat the society was not answerable for ihe view or 
designs of its advotales. How very ddTerent a course did 
the cidonizaticniists pursue towards the Anti-Slavery So- 
ciety. That society was not only marie answerable for all 
which the abolitionists really said, and really designed, 
but for things they never said, and never designed. No 
society was so conspicuous for the siiiiplieily of its princi- 
ples or the harmony of views snbsi.-ting ainon:^st its mem- 
bers. All regard slavelioldiiig as sinful. All considered 
imuiediaie eiwaucipalion to be the duty of the master, and 
the rijdit of the *1 ive. -Ml dtjirscated die thought of a 



servile insurrection to effect the extinction of slatery. Alf 
abhorrod the doctrine, that • ilie end saiTctifies tlib means.' 
But all deemed it a solemn duty to pursue with eneigy 
and boldness the overthrow of slavery ; all were one in 
believing and teaching, that the means adopted, should be 
honest, holy, peaceful, and mmal. It had been said that 
the only wcapcm should be ' peisusaion.' }le (,\lr. T.) 
believed that if no other weapon than ' persuasion ' were 
resorted to, slavery would be perpetual. He believed that 
the gathered, concentrated, wilheriiig scorn of the whide 
World, pagan and christian, must be brought down upon 
slavtdiolding America, ere much eflect could be (iroduced. 
If this was suflicient, it Would be the duty of Britain to 
consider well whether it was right to hold the destinies of 
tile slaves of America in her haml and not act according- 
ly. It would be the duty of the friends of the slave to 
point to slave-grown produce, and cry, ' touch not, taste 
not, handle not' the accursed thing! Great Britain had 
the power, by adopting a system of prohibitory duties, or 
bounties, to all'ect very innlerially the (|uestiun at issue; 
and he (Mr. T.) doubled not, tliat, if some jnich course 
w.is adopted, certain of lire slave stales would immediate- 
ly aboli.-h slavery that they might find a reivdier market 
and a higher price for their prudiice. 

N'otwillistandiiig, however, the precision vrith wdiicll 
the aboliiionists hail stated their principles, and the wide 
publicily they hnd given them, designs the mosi black, ami 
measures the most monstrous and \\i(d\ed,had been clinrg' 
ed upon them. 'I'hey bad been represcnled as ' fire- 
brands,' ' incendiaries,' ' disoigani/.ers,' and ' amalgamat- 
ists ' — 'as promotins 'disunion,' ' rebellion,' and ' the ' iii- 
teinixlure of the races.' Again, and again, had they 
solemnly di.-claiincd ihe views imputed to them, and 
pointed to their published ' const itntions ' and 'declara- 
tions;' but as often h.id their enemies returned to their 
work of calumny and loisrcpresenlation. Hou tolally ab- 
surd was it to ch.arge upon the abiditionists ilie design of 
proiiioliiigamalgamaliMn, while umler the system of.<'lu\cry, 
an unholy nmalgamatiim was g'dng on to the most awlul 
e\unl, deiiionstiateil by the endless shades of complexion 
irt the South ; and, when nothing was more obvious than 
this, that when the female was rescued from her present 
condition — was inspired wiih self-respect, and became the 
protector of her own virtue, — and when f.ithers, and 
brothers, and husband.-', were free to del'end the purity and 
honor of their wives and daiigliler.<, the gieat causes, and 
incentives, and facilities would cease, and cease for ever. 
To prove to the world how solemnly the abolitionists had 
denied the imputations cast u|)oii lliembv their enemies, 
he would reaii from two documents put forth during the 
great excitement which prevailed through the United 
Stales in August la.»t. The American- A nti -Slavery So- 
ciety, in ' An Address to the Public,' rfius anew declared 
their princi|dcs and objects : — 

' We hold that Congress has no F^Dtre right to abolish 
.slavery in the Southern slates thaii;-i« the riench West 
India Islands. Qf Course we de:nrs' no national legisla- 



tion on the silbje' 
We hold tha ' 
the legislainies 
and that the exi 
iiuince such abo' 



ry can only be lawfully abolished by 
e several states in which it prevails, 
ise of any other ihan moral inlluence to 
km is unconstitutional. 
We believe tltJit Congress ha.s the same right to nbolisli 
slavery in the District of Columbia, that the slate govern- 
nients hive within their respective jiirisdicions, and that 
it is their duty to etlace so fuul a blot from the national 
escutcheon. 

We believe that American citizens have the right t<i ex- 
press and publish their opinions of the constitutiiais, law?, 
and institutions of any and every state and nation under 
heaven; and ws mean never lo ^url•ender the lil»erty of 
s{x;t'ch, of ilie j)ress, or of cousci«uce, — blessii g-< we have 



Fourth Night— Thursday — 3Ir. Thompson. 



45 



inherited from our father.-^, and wliirh we intcnil, as far as 
we are able, lo transmit, iiiiiiii|iaire<.l to our chiiilren. 

We are ciiar^ed with stMiding inc-endiary puhUcalions 
to tile South. If i)y the term incendiary is meant puhii- 
faliuns eunlaiiiiii;; ari^uuients and faets lo proM: flaxory to 
he A mural and polillc.al evil, and that duty and puli(-y re-_ 
(|uire its immediate ahulilion, the charge is true. But il 
this term is used to imply publications encouraging tnisiir- 
rcciion, and designed to excite the slaves lo break their 
fetters, the charge is utterly and unequivoeally false. We 
beg our lellow-citi:;ens to notice that this charge is made 
without protjf, and by many who confers that ihey never 
read our publications, and that those who make it, ofler 
to the public no evidence from our writings in support of it. 

We have been charged with a design to encourage in- 
termarriages between the whites and blacks. This charge 
has been repeatedly, and is now again denied; while we 
repeat that the tendency of our sentiments is lo put an 
end to the criminal amalgamation that [irevails wherever 
slavery exists.' 

These were only extracts from the address, which was 
of considerable length, and thus concluded: 

' Such fellow-citizens, are our principles — Are ihey iin- 
worlhy ol republicans and of Christians ? Or are iliey m 
trull) so nirocious, that in ortler to prevent Iheir (ldlu-)ion 
you are yourselves willing lo surrender, at the dictation 
of others, the invaluable privilege of free discussion, the 
very birlh right of Americans ? Will you, in order lliat 
the abomination of slavery may be concealed from pub- 
lic view, and lliat ihe capilol of your republic may con- 
tinue lo be, as it now is, under ihc sanction of Congress, 
the great slave mart of ihe American conlinent, consent 
that die general government, in acknowledged tiefiance 
ot the CoMslitntion and laws, shall appoint ihroughout ihe 
leiigili and breadlh of your land, ten thousand censors of 
the press, each of whom shall have the right to inspect 
every dncumeiit you may commit to the post oflice, and 
to suppress every pamphlet and newspaper, wliellier re- 
ligious or political, which in his sovereign pleasure he 
may adjudge to contain an incendiary a."iicle ? Surely 
Me need not remind jou, that if you submit to such an 
encrnaclinienl on your liherlies, the days of our republic 
are numbered, and ihal ahliough iho abolitionists may be 
the first, ihey will not be the last viclinis olTered at llic 
shrine of arbilra.'y power. 

ARTHUR TAPPAN, President. 

JOHN RANKIN, 'I'reaKurer. 

WIDJAM JAY, Sec. For. Cor. 

ELIZUR WRIGHT, Jr., Sec. Dorvi. Cor. 

AI5RAHAM L. COX, JM. D./Rec. gee. 

LKWISTAPPAN, ^ 

JOSHUA LEAVITT, / 

SAIMUEL CORNISH. \ Members of the 

SIMEON S. JOCELYN, ( Executive Com. 

THEODORE S. WRIGHT, ) 

New York, Sept. 3, 1S35.' 

The other document to which lie had referred, was arr 
address ' adopted at 'a meeting of the Rlassacliusclts Anli- 
Slaveiy Society, duly held in DostoiijOn Monday, Aug. 17, 
A. 1). 1835.' Signed by W. L. Garrison, and twenty- 
seven highly respectable citizens of Boston, on behalf of 
the I\Iassachuselts Society, and others concurring gener- 
ally in its principles, tin (Mr. T.) v,oukt«iily tjuote a 
i'tiw brief passages : — 

' We are charged with violating, or wi.-hing to violate, 
the Constituti(jn of the United Slates. \\'li..t have we 
done, what have we said, to warrant this charge ! We 
have held public meetings, and taken other usual means of 
com inciiig our countrymen that slaveholding is sin, and, 
like all sin, ought to be, andean be immediaiely abandon- 
ed. We have said in the words of the Declaration of In- 
dependence, that ' ALL MEN are created ecpial, and that 
liberty is an Uiuilicnablc gift of God to eery man. We 



know (jf no clause in the Cmstilution, which forbid.s our 
saying this. We appeal to ihe calm judgment (d"the com-- 
inunity, to decide, in view cd" recent events, whether ihe 
measures of the friends- or those of the opposers of aboli- 
tion, are more justly chargeable with the vi(;lation of the 
Constitution and laws.' 

The fjoli.'^h tale that we would encourage amalgamation' 
by inlerniarriage, between the whites and blacks, though 
often refuted, as often re-appears. We thall content our- 
selves with a simple diuiial of this charge. We challenge 
our opporrents lo point to one of our publications in which 
such marriages are recommended. One of our objects is 
to prevent the amalgamation now going on, so far as cair 
be done, by jdacing one million of the females of this coun- 
try uiitler the protection of law. 

We are accused of inlei fereing in the domestic con- 
cerns of the Southern stales. We would ask those who 
charge this, lo explain precisely what they mean by ' inter- 
fertmce.' If, by interlereuce be' meant any attempt to 
legislate for the Southern states, or lo compel them by 
I'orce or intimidation, to emancipate their slaves, we, at 
once, deny any such pretension. We are utterly opposed 
to any force on the subject, but that of conscience and 
reason, which are ' mighty through God, in the pulling, 
down of strong holds.' We fully acknowledge, that no 
change in the slave-laws of the Southern states can be 
made unless by the Southern legislatures. Neither Con- 
gress, nor the legislatures of the free stales have anlhoriiy 
to change the condition of a single slave in the slave 
states. But, if by ' interference' be intended the exer-^ 
cise of the right of freely discussing this subject, and by 
speech ami ihrough the press, creating a public sentiment, 
which will reach the conscience, and blend with the con- 
Tictions of the slaveholder, and thus ultimately woi k the 
complete extinction of slavery, this is a species of in* 
terference which we can never consent to relintiuish.' 

' We respectlully ask our fellow-citizens, whether we are 
to be deprived of these sacred privileges, — and if so,- 
whether the saciifice of our rights will not involve conse- 
<|ueiices dangerous to all mental, and even personal free- 
dom. We have violated — we mean to violate, no law. 
We have acted, we shall continue to act, under the sane- ' 
tion of the Constitution of the United States. iNothing 
that we propose to do, can be prevented by our opposers, 
withoul violating the charter of our riglitu. To the Law 
and to the Constitution we appeal.' 

Snch were the sentiments of the abolitionists of the 
United States of America. 

He (Mr. T.) would embrace the present opportunity of 
saving a few words respecting his own mission to the 
United States, it had been much denounced as an im- 
pertinent foreign interference; but he thought the charge- 
had neither grace nor honesiy when it came from those 
who were engaged, and, as he believed, most conscien- 
tiously and praiseworlhily, in seeking by their missiona- 
ries and agents, to overturn the institutions, .•;ocial, politi- 
cal, and religious, of every other (juarter of the globe.- 
IMr. Breckinridge had said that it would be as just on his 
part to inveigh against England on account of Roman 
Catholicism in the west of Ireland, or idolatry in India, 
as it was on his (Mr. T's) to condemn America for the 
slaveiy existing in that countrv. 'J'he cases were not 
quite parallel. Before they could be compared, fllr. B. 
must prove that the populaiion of Ireland were cimslrain- 
ed to wor.-^hip the Virgin Mav\ — that in India men were 
lorced, by British law, to worship idols. No Briti.-li 
subject was compelled, by any law of their country, or any 
other country to which British sway extended, to be eith- 
er a /lapis^ or an idolater. But in America men were 
convened into beasts ' according to law,' and their souls 
and bodies crushed and degraded by a system most vigor- 
ously enforced by the strung arm of the stale. Hia oppo- 



46 



Fourth Night — Thursday — 3ir. Thoirqjson. 



nent li i.i siiiil, liowever, that sUivpry was not a naliunnlsiii. 
He (All-. 'r.)hatl to lliank a friend for suggestinijan ilhistra- 
tion of the kiiDttv prohleiu. Suppose a number i;f iigricul- 
tnrists, ;inil merchants, anil lii^'liway r^ilihers were to 
meat toijcllier to fjrin a union, an-l the robhers were 
Id ?:\y — cunie, let ui unite f.ir thy purposes of common ee- 
curilv, and common prosperity : «e will defend each oth- 
er, Hnd trade with each other, but we will not ' interfere ' 
in each other's internal aftair:^. You gentlemen, and ajj- 
riculturists, and ineriMiants, shall promise tliat you will 
take no notice of my feliinions and cut-throat proceedings, 
and I, on my part, will pledj^e my honor nut to intenned- 
tlie in the altiiiis of your farms or counting-houses: and 
suppose they were to shake hand:*, complete the bargain, 
and ratify an indismduble union of aurirulturi.-ls, mer- 
chants and hi:j;liway robbers ! would the world hold the 
farmer or the merchant gudlless 1 Mr. I), had said much 
of the pnritv and emaucipaliun principlcsof Massachu.-elts, 
New Hampshire and Maine. How came it to pass, then, 
that they weie in terms of etirh close and cordial lellow- 
i"hip with South Carolina and (Jeor^jia, and Louisiana, 
aii(l so ready lo mob, stone, and outlaw those who deemed 
it their duly to cry aloud on bclialf o( ihe oppressed \ To 
return to lii<i own inissuin. He would never condescend 
to a|)<dogi7,e for speaking the truth, lie had a conunigi>ion 
direct from the skies, to rebuke sin and compa>sionatc 
pnflering wherever on the face of the earlh they existed. 
This World belonged to (iod; and all men were his sub- 
jects anil his (.Mr. 'I'hompson's) brethren. Men might be 
naturally diviiled liv rivers, and oceans, and inoimiaiirg; 
— thev might be polilicallv divided by ditlerenl forms of 
};overnmerit, and specified lines of demarcalion, but ho 
(Mr. T ) Utok the hible in his Iniml and deemrd himself 
al liberty to address eM'ry Innnan being on the face of (he 
e.ulh ill rcferenec to those eternal principles of jnstircand 
truth, whirl) are alike in all countries and in all ages, 
and whi(di the siibjecls of (iod's moraf government every 
wdierc aie bnuncl to respect, lie would say to .America, 
anil to England, silence your cry of foreign interference, 
or call home your missionaries from India, and China, 
and Conslanlinople. 'J"o show that the iibject of his mis- 
nion was in accordance with the spirit of the gospel, he 
%votdd read an extract from an article in the fust rnmdier 
of the ' Abolitionist,' ihe organ of' The Uritish and For- 
eign Society for the Universal Abidition of Slavery and 
the Slave Traile ' — a Society with which he was coimect- 
ed when he went to .\uierica, and whose agent he still 
was. The object of his mission was thus set lorih : — 

' 1. To lecture in the principal cities and towns of ll-.e 
free stales, upon the character, guili, and tendency of 
slavery, and Iho duly, necessity, and advantages of im- 
inediaie and entire abolilion. These addresses vsill be 
riKiuiled upon those great pi inciples of humanity and relig- 
ion which liave been so lully enuntiali'd in llii< country, 
and will consequently be wholly unconnecieil with partic- 
tdar and local politics. This work will l)e carried on un- 
<ter the ailvice, and with the co-operniion of the anii- 
«litvery societies at present in existence iu the United 
Stales. 

2. To aim, by every christian means, nl the overilirov* 
of that prejudice against the colored classes, which now 
so lanit'ulably prevails llirough all the slates of .America ; 
and lo regard as a principal mean lo oblain ihis desira- 
ble object, their elevation in inlellectual and moral worth. 

3. To suggest 10 the friends of negro fieeifoni in ihc 
United Stales, ihe a<lo[)rinii and prosecution ol such meas- 
ures as were found conducive lo ihe cause of abolilion in 
this counlry, and may be found applicable to ihe existing 
tirruinsiances in ilia' . 

4 To seek access lo the influential persons of various 
religious dcnomiiiaiions, and especially lo Ihe minisiers 
of the gospel, for Ihe purpose of ex[)lannlory conversa- 
tion on the subjects of slavery and prejudice. 

5. To endeavor lo effect a junction between llie aboli- 



lionisls of the IJniled Slates of. America and Great Biitain, 
Willi a view lo the aboliiiou ot slavery and the slave trade 
Ihroughout the world.' 

The principles of American societies, his own princi- 
ples, and the objects proposed by his mission to America, 
were now before hi.i o|jponeiit. He called upon him to 
throw aside his quibbles on legal terlmicaliiies, and point 
out, if he were ab!e, any thing in the documunts he had 
read, or the sentiiiienls he had aiUanced, inconsistent wilh 
the spirit of Christianity, or the genius of rational free- 
dom. It had been said that abolitKuii-m was'ijuack- 
ery,' only four years old. He would give them a lillle of 
the (|uackery of lienjamin rrankliii, in the year 1790. 
He held in his hand a pelilion diawii up by that celebrat- 
ed man, and adopted by the ' i'eunsv Ivania Society for 
the .Abolition of Slavery,' the preamiilc of which recog- 
iii/.es ihe doctrines wdiich are m.iintaini-d by .American 
ab ilitionisls at the present day, and expresses the (now in- 
cendiary) desire of diflu.-ing them ' wlieiever ihe evils of 
slavery exist.' Of this Society, Dr. l-'ianklin was idecled 
i*resi>ienl, and Dr. Un«h the Secretary. In 1790, this 
doi-iciy presi-nlcd lo the first Congress u pelilion, from 
which the follow jug is un extract : — 

' From a persuasinn that equal liberiy was originnlly 
the porlion diid is ^llll llic hirlliriglit of all men, and influ- 
eiic<nl by tlie strong lies of liumanily and llie principles 
of their in>litulions your meiiuiriHlisIs conceive iliem- 
selves bound lo u>e all jiiMldiabIc endeavors lo loo>eii the 
bands of slavery, and proinoie a general enjoy metil of iho 
blessings of freedom. Under ihese impre>-ion<t ibev car- 
iicslly cnlreat your seri<ius alleiilion lo llie Mitjrct of 
sljv<Ty ; thai you may be pleased lo counlenance Ihc rcs- 
loralion lo liberty of those unloippy men. who alone in a 
land of fii-cdom are ilegradcd into pcr|)<'tiial liomlage, 
and who, amidst the ;jeiicriil joy ol suiiouniling ficemen, 
are groaning in servile subjection, ihal you will devise 
nifa.>i< for removing Ihis incoiisislcncy from Ihc character 
of llie American people ; iImI you will (iroiTiole mercy nnil 
justice towards this oppressed rare, and llial you will step 
lo ihc Very verge of llie power vesleil in you, for discour- 
nging every species oflrafTic in the persons of our lellow- 
inen.' 

Signed, nr-NJAMIN FRANKLI.N, rrcsident. 

Philadelphia, Feb. 2, 17D0. 

Besi.les the venerable Franklin in 17.00, lieTnight refer 
to the truly able speech of ihe Rev. David Rice, in the 
Covcniion held at Danville, Kentnckv, before or soon 
after the petition just read — to the sermon of Jonathan 
Edwards, the younger, in the year 1791 — and to a most 
excellent sermon by Alexander M'l^eod, through whose 
labors chielly, the Reformed Presbyterians were broujilit 
to the determination to rid iheir church of slavery, an ob- 
ject they acconlplished in the vear 1802. It was a p.-rin- 
ful fict that the American community had retrugr.uled in 
feeling and sentiment on the subject of .slavery. The anti- 
slavery feeling of 1820, was neiilierso pure nor so strong 
as in iSOO, or 1790; and in 1820, the feeling had become 
still weaker, and the views of the commnniiy slill more 
cornipled. This was owing to the formation of the Col- 
onization Society, which, like a great sponge, gathered up 
and absorbed the anti-slavery feeling of the country, and, 
by proposing the removal of the colored popidatirm. and 
constantly preaching such doctrines as were calculated 
to advance that t)bject, drew public atlentinn away from 
the duly of immedialc emancipation on the soil, and caus- 
ed the christian community lo rest in a scheme based iipipii 
expediency, and fully in unison with iheir prejudice 
against color. To those who compaied the various sen- 
timents contained in the writings and speechrs ol the Col- 
onizalionists, with the pure and uncoinproinising princi- 
I^les advocated towards the close of ijie last, and the 
beginning of the piescnl century, nothing was mole ob- 



Fourth Night — Thursdaij — 3lr. Thoinpson. 



47 



vioiis tliaii tlic f.trt lie liad just stated, nnmoly, that there 
had been a gradual giving up of soun 1 views ami princi- 
ples, fur others aceoininudated to the prejudices, and 
interests, and lears of the different porlioiis of the com- 
miinily. For instance, nolhinjf was more ronimon in the 
reci)r(is of the Colonization Society, than the recognition 
of a right of property in man ; to lind the advocates of 
tlie society, when speaking of the slaveholder and his 
slaves, saying, ' we hold their slave- as \vc hohl their oili- 
er properly sacred.' Rlr. Breckiiirirlge might say, ' these 
are not my opinions,' bnt he must know they were the pub- 
lished opinions of the managers and chief advocates of 
the society, and it was for him to explain how he could 
lend a society his countenance and aid, which promulgat- 
ed and nplield so impious a doctrine as the right of pro- 
perty in God's rational, accountalile, and immortal crea- 
tures. He (Mr. T.) knew, howover, that the society 
couid assume all colors, and preach all kinds of doctrines. 
At one time it was promoting emancipation, and at an- 
other increasing the value of slaves, and securing the mas- 
ter in the possession of them. It had one face for the 
North, and another for the Soiitii — a very Proteus, enact- 
ing every sort of character; having no fixed principles — 
never consistent with itself in any thins; but its delermina- 
tion by all means to get rid, il' possil)le, of the colored 
man. If there was any thing which, more than another, 
was calculated to demonstrate the true character and ten- 
dency of the society, it was the opinion every where 
entertained respecting it by the colored population. It 
was a fact that lliey loathed and abhorred the society. 
No man advocating it could be popular amongst them. 
Even Mr. Breckinridge, with all his virtues and benevo- 
lence, was regarded by the colored people as practically 
their enemy, by helping to sustain a society which they 
regarded as the most effective engine of oppression ever 
invented. Surely they were tiualitied to form a judgment 
upon the subject. They had looked into its workings — 
they had narrowly watched its movmenis, and had satisfied 
lliemselves that it was full of all unrighteousness. If, on 
the other hand, the abolitionists were, by their measures, 
doing vast injury to the cause of the free colored people, 
how came it to pass that they had the love and confidence 
of that entire class of the population. How was it that 
even the arch fiend of abolition, George Thompson was 
by them caressed and beloved, and that they would hang 
for hours on the accents of his lips — and that the tear of 
gratitude would start into their eyes wherever he met 
them 1 The secret was soon told. He (Mr. T.) spoke 
to them, and of them as mc7i. He compromised none of 
their rights — ho exhibited no prejudice against their com- 
plexion. He did not recommend exile as their only way 
of escape from their present and dreaded ills. He 
preached justice, and kindness, and repentance to their 
persecutors, and maintained the right of the bleeding cap- 
tive to full and unconditional liberty, with all the privile- 
ges and honors of humanity. Therefore they laved him 
— therefore tliev would lay down their lives for him. He 
would read a list of places, in all of which the colored 
people had held meetings, and denounced the plans of the 
Colonization Society, viz.: — 

Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washing- 
ton; Brooklyn and Rochester, in the state of New York; 
Hartford, Middlcton, New Haven, and Lyme, in the state 
of Connecticut; Columbia, Pittsburg, Lewistown and 
Harrisburg, in the state of Pennsylvania; Providence, in 
the stale of Rhode Island; Trenton, in the state of New- 
Jersey; Wilmington, in the state of Delaware; New 
Bedford, Nantucket, in tlie state of Massachusetts ; in 
the National Convention of the free colored persons, held 
in Philadelphia in 1831 — by the same Convention in 
1832, and, he believed, in every subsequent Ccmvention. 

To return to the anii-slavcry societies of the United 
States. He (Mr. T.) knew tliein to be composed of the 
finest and purest elements in the country. They were 



numerous and powerful. It would soon be proved that, 
with the blessing of God, ihey were omnipotent. Know- 
ing the piety, intelligence, wealth, and energy of the abo- 
litionists of America, it required some efiorl to be calm, 
when JMr. Breckinridge stood before a British audience, 
and compared tlieui to FalstalT's ragged regiment. The 
society in Kentucky might be small in regard to numbers. 
He believed, however, they were highly respectable. He 
referred to ftlr. J. G. Birney on this point. Mr. Breck- 
inridge might represent on the present occasion, if it 
pleaseil him, the abolitionists of his (Mr. B's) country as 
beggaily, odious, and despicable; but if he lived to revis- 
it li^ngland (and he hoped he might) he believed he would 
then have to tinil some other illustration of their charac- 
ter, numbers, and appearance, than the ragged regiment of 
Shakespeare's Falstaff. 

Having stated the principles of the anti-slavery socie- 
ties in America, he would exhibit, in the words of the 
Philadelphia declaration of sentiments, their mode of op- 
erations. 'J'he National Society, formed during the Con- 
vention, thus made known to the world its intendeil course 
of action ; — 

We shall organize anti-slavery societies, if possible, in 
every city, town and village in our laud. 

We shall send forth agents to lift up the voice of re- 
moiislr^ncp, of warning, of entreaty and rebuke. 

We shall circulate, unsparingly, and extensively, anti- 
slavery tracts and periodicals. 

We shall enli.st the ' Pulpit,' and the ' Press ' in the 
cause of the suffering and the dumb. 

We shall aim at the purificaiion of the churches from 
all participation in ihe guilt of slavery. 

We shall encourage the iabor of freemen rather than 
that of slaves, by giving a prefersiice to their produ«- 
lioiis ; and 

We shall spare no e.verlions nor means to bring the 
whole nation to speedy repentance. 

Our liust for victory is solely in GOD. We may be 
personally defeated, but our principles never. Truth, 
justice, reason, numaiiily, must and will gloriously tri- 
umph. Already a host is coming up to the help of the 
Lord against the mighty, and the prospect before us is full 
of encouragement. 

Submitting tiiis declaration to the candid e.xamination 
of the people of inis coun'ry, and of the friends of liberty 
throughout the wc.-!d, we hereby affix our sif,'naturGS to it"; 
pledging ourselves that, under the guidance and by the 
help of Almighty God, we will do all that in us lies, consis- 
tently with this declaration of our principles, to overthrow 
the most execrable system of slavery that has ever been 
witnessed upon earth ; to deliver our land from its dead- 
liest curse ; to wipe out the foulest stain which rests upon 
our national escutcheon ; and to secure to the colored 
population of the United Stales all the rights and privi- 
leges which belong to them as men and as Americans — 
come what may to our persons, our interests or our repu- 
tations — whether we live to witness the triumph of liberty, 
justice, and humanity, or perish untimely as martyrs in 
this great, benevolent, and holy cause. 

Signed in the Adclphi Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, 
on the Gih day of^ December, A. D. 183.3. 

True to the pledges given in this declaration, tlie abo- 
litionists had printed, preached, and prayed withouc ceas- 
ing. As a proof of what they were doing in one department 
of their work, he would exhibit a number of newspapers, 
tracts, pamphlets, and other periodicals, which were in cir- 
culation throughout the country. Mr. Thompson then pro- 
duced copies of the Slave's Friend, Anti-Slavery Record, 
Anti-SlaveryAnecdotes, Human Rights, Emancipator, Lib- 
erator, New York Evangelist, Zion's Herald, Zion's 
Watchman,'Philadelphia Independent Weekly Press, Her- 
ald of Freedom, Lynn Record, New England Spectator, 
&c., and an Anti-Slavery Quarterly, edited by Profe.»sor 
Wright, the Secretary of the National Society, and dis- 



48 



Fourth Nighi — Thursday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



t injiiislicii 1j_v ronsideraMi; lileinry talent. Tlicse were 
tile iiinuii:: |)iiis(ied l»y tlie alxililidiiists. Tlicy \v>*re 
peaceful and Innioralile means;, and, uiiiler CJud, would 
prove eflertual l(» bring the bloud ccniiMiled faliric of 
i<lavery to llic ground. Other than moral and con:^lilu- 
liiinal means the al)olitioni.sts sought not to eniplov. 
'J'lieirs ur)uld not be the glory reaped upon the crinl^ou 
lield amidst the carnage and the din of war. Their vic- 
tory woiilii not l>e a vit-loiy acliieveil by the ii.^e of car- 
nal weapon."", effecting the freedom of one man by the de- 
elniction of another. Tlieir victory would be a v ictorv 
Won by the potency of principles drawn from ti»e gospel 
of the Prince of I'cac^e — llieir glory the glory of tlio.sc 
who had obtained a bloodless coni|nest over llie con.<;cien- 
ces and hearts of men. la ilie full conviction that the 
priiici|)les he (Mi', 'riiompscm) hail that night mainlaiiicd, 
were the principles of the word of liod, he would Flill 
prosecute ihe work to which he had for come vearn de- 
voted himself. He called upon those around him to be 
true to those principles, and to continue zealou^lv to ad- 
vocate iheni, and leave tliif congc<|uences in the hands of 
(Jcid. \.a:1 the friends of human righl.x again rally under 
the banner which had aforetime led them to battle — luuler 
which they iiad ti<)ielher fought aad together tiimnphed — 
and rcmendier that the motto inscrilii-il upon it* ample 
folds — a motto which, though oft aluued, had oft i^ustain- 
cd them in the hour of cuullict — was, I'iai Jusiitia ruat 
CiL'lum. 

Mn. imKrKINnUXiK rose. Having taken n good 
many iioi'.'s of what .Mr. 'I'hoinp.'on had said in the 
speech now (Udivered, he was prepared foi' repKing if un 
opportunity were presented after hi! hliouhl have Imitiheil 
saying what sccnit-'d to him more pertinent to the kiibj<'.ct 
ill hand. In the meantime he would introduce what lie 
liad now to say, by reading another version of the events 
which liad been represeuied a:> one uf Mr. Tliuui|>80irs 
triumplis at lioslon : — 

Mr. May introduced a resolution ciciiounciiig ihc Coi- 
tonizatioii Jsocicty as unworthy of patronage, liecau-<e it 
<lisscniinalc!i opinions uiilavoruble to the inierest uf the 
colored people. 

Mr. ("iiirley replied. He finislicd the ron<(ideralion of 
Mr. May's objeciions, went into iiii exposition of the ad- 
vantages of the Colonizniion Society, and coiiirRstod its 
claims with those of the Anti-Slavery Society. In tloing 
4his, he exhibited a hand lull, having a large cut of a ne- 
^ro in chains, with some iiillamniatory sentences under it. 
Here he was iutemipied l)y hisses, which were nnswcred 
by clapping;. Mr. George 'I'hompson rose and attempted 
lo address the meeting. This increased the confusion. 
Cries of ' sit down — sliame — be silent — let Mr. Mav an- 
swpr if he can — no foreign inicrl'crence,' &,e., fiom all 
parts of the hall. Mr. 'I'hompson persevered, as few men 
would have done, but at last yielded to the evident deier- 
minalioa of the audience, and took his seat. 'J'lve liall 
ihcn became still, and Mr. Gurley proceeded. 

We do not know that any anii-colonizationisl was con- 
vinced by these discussions ; except men who are comniit- 
•ted against the society, we believe tlie very general opin- 
ion is, that their overiiirow on the field of argument was 
as complete as any could desire. It is evident that the 
«ause of the Colonizalioii Society is gaining a hold on 
the convictions and alfections of the people of iS'ew Eng- 
land, stronger than it ever had before. We say this in 
view of facts, which are coming to our knowledge from 
various parts. The storm of abuse and misrepresenta- 
tion with which it has been assailed, is beginning already 
to contribute to its strength. 

Now he begged to remark that tlie paper from which 
iie had read the foregoing extract, the New York Obser- 
ver, together with the one from which it was originally 
taken, the Boston Recorder, printed more matter weekly 
than all the avowed abolition newspapers in America, put 
together, did in half a year. He would notice farther, in 



relation to the great display of abolition publication* 
which had been made by ."\lr. Thompson on the platform, 
that one of the papers lying there on the table, had advo- 
cated his piinciplei; and cause when he was in n<i.-loii, 
and likely to l>e iiiubbed at the instigation, as he bclnveil, 
of .Mr. Liarrison. Some o( the remainder of the publira- 
tioiis were, he believed, Kmg ago dead; some could 
hardly be said ever to have lived; some were purely oc- 
casional; the greater part as limited in circulation m 
they were conteiiiptibe in point of merit. Not above two 
or three of the dozen or lilieen that hail been produced 
iMdorc them — and the names of which he {.Mr 11.) re<|iiir- 
ed to he recorded — were, in fact, worthy to be called, 
respectable and avowed abolition newspapers. Iiut to 
come to the point immediately in hand. He would on tin- 
present occasion attempt to show that aliolitiiui was not 
worthy to supplant the colonization scheme in the affec- 
tions of Americans, or ilrilains, or of any other thinking 
people, lie acknowledged that there were m.inv respec- 
t.ible men in the ranks of the abolitionist.- ; but these, 
almost without exception, had been at one liine coloniza- 
iioiiist.s, and had he time he might show that nianyof them 
had deserted the Colonizalioii Society on some peculiar 
and personal grounds, not involving the principles of the 
cau.se. He was jirepaied to show, however, that by 
whomsoever supported, the princijiles of the abolitionists 
were essentially wrong, and that their practice whh still 
wrirue. He had not ncces.t to the voluminous documents 
brought forward by Mr. Tliom|ir!on. Mr. Thompson had, 
indeed, that evening, on this (ilatforin. publicly oflered 
him access to (hem. Had that otfer been made at the 
beginning of (he discussion, instead of the end of it, or 
during the four or five days 8|K*nt in (ilasgovv Itcfore it 
Commenced, it miglit have l')een turned to tome advantage. 
Rut as it was, the audience vvoulil know how to appreciate 
it ; and he must rely solely upon iiiemory when he stated 
the principles prninulgated by abolitionists; though at the 
game time, he pledged himself that his statements not 
only were intended to be, bin were, substantiallv correct 
aiiJ entirely candid. The alxjlitionigis held, then, in the 
first place, aa a fundamental truth, that every hiiinan 
being had an instant right to \>e free, irrespective of con- 
sequences to himself and <jlhcrsj consc(|iieiitly that it w.-is 
the duty of masters to set free their slaves instantly, and 
iiTespective of all conse(|Ucnce8 ; and, of course, sinful to 
exercise the powers of a master for one moment, or for 
any purpf).se. This was, in sulndance, the great princi- 
ple on which the abolitionists acicil — a principle which he 
vv-as now prepared to (piestion. He hud on a former oc- 
casion shown that there were only two parlies responsi- 
ble for the existence of slavery, namely, individual slave- 
holders, and slaveholding comiiiunities. He would now 
attempt to prove, that as applied to cither of these, this 
principle was not only false, but that it wa.s a mere fig- 
ment, and calculated to produce tremendous evil. Let 
tliem first attend to what the alK)litionist8 say to the indi- 
vidual slaveholder. Perha|)8 the person addressed was an 
inhabitact of Louisiana; where, if it is not directly con- 
trary to law to manumit a slave — the law refuses to recog- 
nize the act. Was he to be told, then, that he should 
turn off his slaves, the young and ludplcss along vrith the 
old and the infirm, with the certain knowledge that so 
soon as they left his planLatimi, they would commence 
a career of trouble and sorrow, most likely to end in 
their being seized, imprisoned, fined, and again enslaved. 
Air. Thompson had mentioned, in nearly ail his printed 
ppecchci!, the case of a certain colored man, who had 
been thrown into prison at Washington city, and sold into 
eternal slavery to discharge the fees which accrued by 
reason of his oppression. .Now, he (Mr. li.) took leave 
to say that this story was false in toto. It was customary 
in some parts of .America to sell vagalxjiids, in order to 
make up their jail fees; but they were bound for no long- 
er a period than was ucceisary to do this. The sysicin 



Fourth Night — Thursday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



49 



was this — they were taken up as vagrants. If they were 
al)le and willing to show that they liad some reyuiar and 
honest means of livelihood, they were of course acquitted 
and discharged; but when they were uiialile to do tiiis, 
they were sold for as much as would piiy the fees of de- 
tention, trial, &c. That any person, black or white, once 
recngniocd by the law as free, was ever sold into everlast- 
ing slavery, he positively denied, and demanded proof la 
Louisiana, however, it being illegal to manumit a slave, 
those whom the abolitionists would set free, would not be 
considered free in the eye of the law. They might l:e har- 
rassed, imprisoned as vagabonds, sold to pay expenses, as 
vagabonds, and so soon as set free again imprisoned. He 
admitted that such proceedings would be inexcusable ; but 
what was a benev(dent man who had the welfare of his 
slave really at heart, to do with an eye to them 1 To act 
upon the abolitionist principle, would be to consign the 
slave to incalculable misery, fir they had but one lesson 
to teach — turn loose tlie slaves, and leave consequences to 
God ! The Colonizationists, however, are provided with 
a better remedy. If Louisiana would not countenance 
manumission, nor suffer maniuuitted slaves to remain with- 
in her bounds, with the usual privileges of freemen, let 
thcin be taken to some other state, where such laws did 
not exist; or if this should not, on the whole, be desira- 
ble, let them be taken to Liberia. No, repeats Mr. 
Thompson; discharge your slaves at once, and leave the 
con.se(|uences to God. If, by the wicked laws of Louisi- 
ana, they are left to starve, or driven to desperation, or 
sold again into slavery, the responsibility is theirs; do 
you your duty in setting them immediately at liberty '} It 
vvouid re(|uire, however, that a luimaue in<livukial should 
be very strongly impress<'d wiih ihe truth of this principle 
before he could persuade himself to do that which was evi- 
dently so cruel in its innnediate eflecis, and so likely to be 
ruinous in those that are more remote. Yet, that princi- 
ple was, to say the least, extremely doubtful ; and ouglit 
not, at every hazard, to be cramed down the throats of an 
entire nation. If the laws of the community were bad, 
as he admitted it to be the case, he supposed it was the 
duty of enlightened citizens to seek a change of that law 
by proper means, but not in the meantime to do that 
which would be totally insubordinate to the stale, and inju- 
rious to all parties. Whether, moreover, it was either 
lair or canrlid to denounce, as had been done, the free 
states as being participators in slavery, because, though 
they did not themselves hold a property in slaves, they 
did not choose to swallow such nostrums even without 
chewing, coulii not be a question, li it was so doubtlul 
whether duty to the slaves themselves rendered the imme- 
diate, breaking up of all relations between them and their 
masters a proper or even a permitted thing, it was still 
more questionable, whether our duties to the state may not 
iniperiously forbid what our duties to the slave have 
already warned us against. I have omitted all consid- 
erations of a personal or selfish kind — all rules of conduct 
drawn from what is due to one's self, ones lamily, or 
one's condition, or engagements. Common benevolence 
forbids, as we have seen, and common loyalty prohibits, 
as we shall see — what a man must ilo, or lie under the 
curse of abolitionism. For, though it be our duty to seek 
the ainendmeiu ol bad laws, because they are bad, it is 
equally our duty to obey laws because they are laws, unless 
it is clear that greater ill will follow from obedience, than 
from disobedience. Now all our slave states are perfectly 
vi'illing that their citizens should emancipate their slaves; 
only many of them insist on their doing it elsewhere, than 
within their Ijorders. As long as other lands exist, ready to 
receive the manumitted skne, and certain to be benefitted by 
bis reception, it is to preach treason, as well as cruelty, and 
folly as well as either, to assert the boundcn duty of the in- 
dividual slaveholder, at all hazards, to attempt an impos- 
sibility on the instant, rather than accomplish a better 
result by foresight, preparation, an. I suitalde dchiv. It 

7 



inay therefore be boldly said that instant surrender of the 
aulliority of the master, irres|)eclive of all other consid- 
erations, must, in many cases, be a great crime in the indi- 
vidual slaveholder. He would now speak of this abolitiou 
principle to which he had adverted as a rule of conduct 
for slaveholiling communities. In this respect, also, he 
considered that it was at best extremely questionable. 
Let us illustrale the principle by the oft-repeated case of 
the District of Columbia. Abolitionism asserts that it is 
the clear duty of Congress lo abolish slavery instantly in 
that District, without regard to what may occur after- 
terwards in conseciiience of that act. Let us admit, that 
the dissolution of the federal union is a consetiuence not 
worthy of regard — even when distinctly foreseen ; and 
that all the evils attendant on such a result, to human so- 
ciety, and to all the great interests of man throughout the 
earth, are as nothing, compared with the establishment of 
a doubtful definition, having an anti(|nity of at least four 
years, and a paternity disputed between Jir. Garrison and 
Air. Thompson. As a principle concerning no other crea- 
ture but the slaves of the District, and no interest but 
theirs, it can be shown to be false. If Congress were in- 
stantly to abolish slavery there, with a tolerable certainly 
that every slave in the District would be removed, and con- 
tinued with their issue in perpetual slavery; when, by an 
arrangement with the owners, they might so prospectively 
abolish it as to secure the freedom of every slave in five 
or ten years, and of their issue as they successively arriv- 
ed at twenty or twenty-five years of age ; if Congress 
could do the latter, and were in peference to do the form- 
er, they would deserve the execrations of the world. Tlie 
first plea is Mr. Thompson and abolitionism; the second 
express my prirfi-iples and those of the despised gradual- 
ists. At all events, the truth of the principle involved in 
the former snpjjosition was not so manifest as to justify 
JMr. Thompson in denouncing, as he had done, those who 
did not see proper to follow it. A wise man would hesi- 
tate — he would weigh well the resulting circumstances as 
one of the best tests of the truth and utility of his princi- 
ples before he propagated, as indisputably and exclusively 
true, and that in despite of all results, such principles, 
with the violence which had been manifested — principles 
which he repeated, were but four years olrl, and which 
he was still convinced, were but arrant tpiackery. There 
was another aspect of the subject. Reference had been 
inade to the representation of the black population in the 
national government. He would remark on this subject 
that it was the duty of every stale to see that power was 
committed only to the hands of those qualified to exercise 
it properly, wisely, and beneficially. VVliat would be said 
in this coiintrv, were Mr. Thompson to propose that the 
elective franchise should be made universal, and that the 
age at which it might be exercised should be fixed at 15, 
years '? He would venture to say thai the ministry who 
would introduce such a scheme to Parliament, would not 
exist for three days. The proposal, as Jlr. T. no doubt 
knew, would be considered altogether revolutionary and 
shocking. Yet it must be admitted that the average of 
the boys of Lrilain who are 15 years old, are fully as well 
qualified for the exercise of the elective franchise, as the 
average of the slaves in the various parts of the "United 
States, are at the age of 21 years. But with us, as witli 
you, 21 years is the age at which electors vote. As I 
have shown, in most of our states the elective franchise 
is extended to every white man, who has attained that 
age; while the qualifications, of a properly kind, any 
where required are so extremely moderate, that in all our 
communities, nine-tenths at least of the adult white male* 
are entitled lo vote. Now let it be borne in mind, that 
abolitionism re(|uires not only instant freedom for the 
slave, but also instant treatment ot him in every civil, and 
political, as well as every social and religious respect, as 
if he were while. That is, in jdain terms — if we should 
follow the dogmas you sent Mr. T. to teach us, — and 



50 



Fourth Night — Thiirsdaij — Mr. BrecJcinridge. 



i^iiich we \mv« liren liell up to tlie From of all good men, 
fir (Ici'liiiiii!; to ifci'ive, :i ri'voliilioii far more leiiil>lt! and 
levohinj^ would immcdi.ilely I'ollow tlironglmut all our 
eliive state**, ilisn would follow in Britain by enfranchising 
in a iIhv, <Mery boy in it fifiei'n years ol<l — even if your 
House of Lords were hubsliiuled by an elective senate, 
and your parliaments made annual ! And it is in the light 
of sucli results, that America lia.s received with hoiror ihe 
«nnneia(ion of |)rinciples, which lead directly to llieiu — 
while their advocates declare ' all conset|iiences ' indiffer- 
ent, IIS it regards their conduct ! And can it lie the duty 
of any comiiionweahh lo biiiis; ii()on itself ' instantly,' — or 
at all — ^ucll a cfmditinn as this 1 The abolitionists theiii- 
Belirs had cvideiillv felt that their M'lienie was absurd; for 
thry had never ventured lo propose it to a slave stale. 
'J'lieir pafiers were publi.-hed, and their eftnrts all made, 
and their iir|,'anized agitation carried on, iiiid ii tiemen- 
dous uproar raised in slate^i wlieie iheic exi.-led no power 
whatever to put an end to slavery; but hardly a sellable 
had been ullcied «here. if am where, some eflect inigllt 
have been produceii beiielicial to the slaves, had abolition 
principled iieeii practicable any where. 'I'he niiidnci of 
the abolitionists had U-en of a piece with what wuuld 
have taken place in this coiinlrv had an agitalimi been gut 
up fur the diiect abolition of i<lolalry in China, or (jf po- 
pery in .Spain. Their principles hail never vet been advo- 
raled in the South, but by means of the post olfii^e, the 
effects of which, in tho tearing up of mail bags, iir., Mr. 
I'homiison well knew, and had decl.ired. Dut the fact 
tvas that such metaplivsical prii|>ositi<ins as those propound- 
ed by the abolitionists — even admitting them to be true — 
were altogether uncalled for. Thoiisaiidit of slaves htid 
been emancipated Ik-Ioic the alxdition principlen were 
lieai'd of, and all that was needed, was, that those who 
were engaged in the yood work should have been let alom- 
or aided on their own pi inciple>i. \\ hat was the use of 
blazoning forth a doctrine which waii in all likeldnnHi 
fulre and riiiiiuus, but which, \v<M'e il true, could ilu no 
{oud 1 Fur if you could persuade a man that his duty 
re(|uiied him to i^ive heeiloin to his slaves, and he l>ecaiiie 
suitably impressed with a sense thereof — he would do il 
just UK certainly and elVecliially, as though you had begun 
by saving lo him — now as soon as I convince you, you 
niiist set them free immediately ! He could, indeed, char- 
actei ize such a mode of proceeding by no oilit^r term than 
that of gratuitous folly. .Again, lie might say tli.il this 
principle of abiditionism was contrary to all tlie experi- 
ence which .\merica had acipiired as a nation on this siil>- 
ject. I'riiici|)les favorable to emancipation first took root 
where there uere few sl.ixes, ami when the products of 
their labor were of little value. Tliey had spread gradii- 
»lly towards the South, the border states Iteing always 
first inoculated, till no lewer than eight states which t'd- 
erated slavery, adopted this pripciple, and successively 
abolished it. To tliese eight stales were lo lie added four 
olharf, crcaleil since the furination of the federal constitu- 
tion, which never tuler.ited slavery, thus making twebe 
states in wliirh slavery was not permitted. By the iidlii- 
ence of gradualism alone, had the caii.-e of freedom ad- 
vanced steadily to liiis poiiil, aiitl every day rendered its 
tiltimate triumph throughout the whole empire more and 
more probabk?. -At this time it miglit have been carried 
South by at least 5 degrees of latitutle; and Virginia, 
Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and i\lissouri. added to 
the fiee'stale.": ; and the shackles of 1,000.000 slaves, 
l)een in a process of gradual melting off. If 50 years had 
seen the rise of 12 free states, was it too much to hope 
that the next 50 years should enfranchise 12 more. For 
all the ruin brought on lliis glorious cause during the last 
4 years by the principles and practices of i\lr. Thomp- 
son's friends, vvliat have lliey lo compensate suffering hu- 
manity 1 Have they or iheiis released from his bonds a 
single slave 1 The abolitiun plan had, in fact, been a sior- 
uul, a lutiJ, an uLsolule failure. ^Ir. Tiiumnsou liiin- 



Folf ilid not pretend to say that a twentieth part of the 
populaiion of America hud embraced his views. Tlie 
vvli(de theory was as false as the whole practice was fatal, 
and just and pious men would hereal'ier hesjtaie beloie 
they sent out new missimis to advocate them, or lent the 
inrineiice of their just weight to demmciatiuns levelled 
»i:aiiist all who did not ihiiik them worthy of their ap- 
plause. The second ii\t;n principle of the ab<diiionisti 
to which he Would invite attenlion was this — that it was 
the inherent and indcstriiciible right of every man to abide 
in perfect freedom in whatever spot he was born; anil 
that, while it is a crime to deny him there, all the rii;hts 
of a man, a citizen, and a Christian, it was not less so lo 
persuade, to w in, or lo coerce him into, what they call exile 
— this jiriiiciple was levelled ai the Cidoiii/alloii Society; 
and. while instant abtdition formed the first, and denunci- 
ation of what they call prejudice against cidor, formeil the 
last ; hatred to colonization formed the middle ami active 
principle ol" the band. Of ihis it might be said, (iist, — 
that il had the advantage of rontrailicling all the wiMloiii 
anil practice of mankind. Whether it was meant to em- 
br:u'e women and iiiiiKirs — or at- what age to establish ilia 
beginning of lights so extraordinary and unprecedented; 
whtrlher at 21, as here, or 25, as in some coimli ies, or 2M, 
IIS in othi-is, had not yet lieen defined. I'liiis miiih at 
least might be saiti — that if these rights residvd in black 
men they resided in no otiicrs of whatever hue, or race; 
anil the philosophers vyho discovered their existence had 
foiiiid out soiiielhiiig to coinpeiis.lle these unhappy men lor 
their unparalleled sufferings. It certainly need not create 
surprise that w(.- should listen withsuspiciun lo such dogimiii 
taught by an Knglishman, when we rcinemlx-r that, fruiii 
time immemorial, all the inslilulions of his own country 
were biiill upon dogmas precisely opposite ; ami all her 
practice the reverse of the preaching of llie senii-iialioiial 
reprMsentalive. Mr. Thomosoii savs, a man is a cilizi^n 
by inherent ri;^lit, wherever he is Uirii ; the Hrilish inoii- 
arcliy, which .Mr. Tliomp.son says lie prefers to all thing! 
else, tavs on the contrary, that let a inuii l)c born where 
he may, he is ii Union, if bom of Uiitish parents; and 
it both clai'iis his allegiance and will extend to him every 
right of a siibjerl iMnn at home! 'I'heii, why is not a 
man an .African if Iwirn of .African parents in America, 
as well us a Urilon, if born of Ibitish parents there T 
Or, why are we lo lie attacked, first with cannon on one 
side, and then willi Hilliiigsgaic on the other side of this 
\exed (piCblion 1 Nor did our own notions, adverse ns 
they were to those of Hritain, connicl less with Mr. T. 
and alHdilionisin on another part of the principle. All 
our notions (lermit men to expatriate thum.'eUes, m:iny of 
our constitutions guarantee it as a natural right, and 
.America had actually gone lo war with I'litain in defence 
of that right in her naturalized citizens. Itritain had in- 
sisted on searching American vessels for liriiish sailors ; 
America had refused to submit to the Hfarch, because, 
among other things, the man sought was, by naturaliza- 
tion, an American. America did not oppose any of her 
citizens l>econiin> Britons if they thought lit, and was re- 
solved to maintain the right of those who chose to l»e- 
come American citizens from whatever couiilry they might 
have emigrated, and therefore could hear only with con- 
tempt this dictum of alxditionism. .Again, he \yould say 
that this principle is contrary to common sense. Rights of 
citizenship were not to be considered natural rights. 
They were given by the coinnumiiy, they might be with- 
held by the co!iiniunily ; and, therefore, to talk of thciil 
being undisiruciible was sheer non.<ense. ISo man had a 
natural right to say, I will l>e a citizen of this or that 
Slate; and in point of fact, the great bulk of mankind 
were not citizens at all but merely subjects. There were 
laws establishing the present lorin of government, giving a 
certain power lo the King and to the I'urliament, and reg- 
ulating the mode in which I'arliament was to l)e elected. 
'i'liCkC laws were altogether coiiveuliunal, and us wcU 



Fourth Night — Thursdc/!/ — 3Ir. Breckinridge, 



51 



mi^lu a man claim a natural li^ht to be a kin^ or a jtirlfje 
as to lip a citizpM. It minlit be as ti'ii!}' said that one is 
inherently a shai'k beciuise lie was born at Fea, or a horse 
because lie liapjjeneil to have been born in a stable. So 
far is the theory of abolition fiom tiie triilh; and so wide- 
ly remote is their hatred to colonization, from lieiiig ba?p'i 
in jnstice or reason, that eir(uniistanccs may occnr in 
M'hich it shall become an inipeiative diilv for men to emi- 
grate. America pre."!ented a srrikin^ example of the 
truth of this. In this country it %vas customary to talk 
of America as a dauiihter of Enj^land. He had heard 
people talk as if Aiiiprica were about as larsje as one 
Kn;j;lisli shire, and settled principally from their own vil- 
lages. But the fact was, that America was an epitome 
of the whole world, peopled by colonies from almost all 
parts of it. It was an eclectic nation; and to talk to 
Americans of the inherent light of a man to stay and be 
oppressed, where he happened to be born — or the guilt of 
seducinsf hia» to emigrate, is only to expose one's sell to 
pily or scorn. To reali/e this it is only necessary to take 
a map of our wide empire, washed by liolh oceans, and 
embracing all the climates of the earth, and get some 
American boy to tell you the migrations of his ancestors. 
To omit all mention of the red man from Asia, and the 
poor black man from Africa; there he will say in New 
England, are the children of the Pilgrims, who were the 
fathers of voar own round heads, driven out by the mean 
and vexatious tyranny of James I.; and there in lower 
Virginia, three hundred leagues off, are the descendants 
of the Cavidiers and Maligiiants. 'J'here in the back 
parts of the same ancient commonwealth, and in all west- 
ern Pennsylvania, are the sturdy ycotrh, whose fathers 
were hauled in the streets of your cities, by that perjured 
Charles II., who thus rewarded the loyalty that g".ve him 
back his crown. In the same key state of the Union, is 
a nation of industrious Germans; while in the empire 
state of New \'ork, are the children of those glorious 
United Provinces, that disputed with yourselves, for ages, 
the empire of the seas; and between them both, in New 
Jersey, the descendants of those ancient Danes, who 
often ravaged your own coasts. The descendants of Hu- 
goiiots, whose ani-estors Louis XIV. expelled from France, 
aiifl placed cordons on his frontiers to liutcher as they 
Went out, simply because they were proteslants, peotile 
parts of the South; in other parts of which are colonies 
of Swiss, of Spaniards, and of Cathidic French. The 
Irishman is every where; and every where better treated 
than at home. Amongst such a peoph-, it must needs be 
an instinctive sentiment, that he who loves country more 
than liberty, is unworthy to have either; that he who in- 
culcates or affects the love of place, above the possession 
of precious privileges, must have a sinister objeci. But 
he miglit proceed uiuch firther ; and having sliown that it 
might be the dtUy of men to emigrate under various cir- 
cumstances, pro\e that sucli a duty never was more im- 
perative than on the free colored pnoulation of America. 
Possessing few motives to remain in America that were 
not base or insignificant, comjjared with those that ought 
to urge their return, every attempt to explain and defend 
their conduct, revealed a selfishness on tlieir part, a thou- 
sand times greater than that they charge upon the while<; 
uiid a cruelty on the part of their advisers, towards the 
dying millions of heathen in Africa, more atrocious than 
that charged, even by them, on the mastei* against his 
slave. The love of country, of kindred, of liberty, of the 
souls of men, and of Goil himself, impels them to depart, 
and do a work, wdiich none but they can do; and which 
they forego through the love of ease, the lack of energy, 
vanity gratified by the caresses of alxditionists, and dead- 
iiess to the great motives detaded above. But there was 
another, and most obvious truth, which shows the utter 
futility of the principle of abolition now contested. So 
far was ihe fact tVom being so, that any body, Idack or 
white, held an inherent riglit of ciliien.-hip in the place of 



his birth; tliat it is most certain, no man hncl-^ven a right 
of bare residence, which the state migdit not justly and 
properly deprive him of — upon sufficient reason. Thet 
slate has the indisputable right to coerce emigration^ 
whenever the publii; good re(]nired it; and when that pub- 
lic good coincided with the interest ol' tlie eniigratitrg 
party — and that also of the land to which Cliey went — to 
coerce such emigration might become a most sacred duly. 
It was indeed true, that the (Vieiids of colonizatiim had 
not contemplnted, nor proposed any other than a purely 
Voluntary emigration ; for, even the traduced state of 
iMaryland not only made the fact of removal voluntary, 
but, going a step further than any other, gave a choice of 
place to the emigrant. I recommend Africa, says she, 
but I will aid you to go wherever you prefer to go. It 
should, iiowever, be borne in mind that this jiower is in- 
herent in all communities, and has been exercised in all 
lime. And it were well fir tiie advocates of abolition 
principles to remember, that the linal, and, if necessary, 
forcible separation of the parties, is surely preferable to 
the annihilation, or the eternal slavery of either; while it 
is infinitely more proliable than the instant emancipation 
— the universal levelling — or the general mixture for 
which they contend. He had stilt left ii third principle 
advanced by the abolitionists on v\hich to coiiiuienl ; but 
as only two or three minutes of his alloled time remained, he 
would not enter on the subject : but would read, for tlis 
information of the audience, a speech delivered by Mr« 
Thompson at Audover, in Massachusetts, the seat of one 
of our largest theological seminal ies, as leporled by a 
student who was present. He wished this speech lo be 
put on record for the information of the British public :— 

Slndenls — I shall first speak of the natural and unalien' 
able riglil lo discuss slavery. It is not a question, you 
ought lo do it ; you sin against God and conscience, and 
arc traitors to liumau nature and truth, if 3'ou neglect it. 
Whoever atleinpts lo sioj) you from liie exercise of this 
riglal. snatches the trident from Uie .\lmighly, and wlio- 
evor dares lo put manacles upon mind uiust answer for it 
at the bar of God. It bi-jongs lo God and lo God exclu- 
sively. You arc not at liberty to give respect (o any en- 
treaty or suggestion, or lo take Itilo consideration the . 
feelings of any man or Ixidy of men on the subject. The 
wicked spirit of expediency, is the spirit fyf hell, the in- 
famous docliines of the demons of hell, and whoever at- 
tempts lo preach it 10 lh« rising youth of Ihe land, preach- 
es llie doclrine ()f the damned spirits. It is llie spirit of 
llie flame and faggni, revealing itself as it dares, and cor- 
rupting the atmosphere so ns 10 prevent llie fiee breath- 
ing of a free soul. Where are the students of the Lane 
Seminary? Where they ought lo be ; — from Georgia lo 
JMaiiie, and from the Atlantic to ihe Rocky mountain* 

lar from a prison house where fellers are forged and 

ri vetted, 'i'hey could not slay in a place where a ihrr- 
moineler vvrs hung up to gradualo the slate of iheir feel- 
iii'Ts. It was not till Dr. Beei her consulted the facui- 
iv'at New Haven and Aiulover, lo see if they would sns- 
t^iin him, that ho ventured to put the screws on. But, 
perhajis you may say, we must l)id farewell to promotion 
if we ilo'as you desire. The faculty have the powpr. in 
a deo-ree, to fix our future settlements by the recommen- 
dation, and, therefore, we must desist. What if jou do 
have to leave the seminary '/ Far belter to be away ihaa 
to breathe the tainted air of tyranny. I proclaim it here, 
that the only reason why Abolition is not countenanced 
at Ando\er, is, because it is unpopular ; when it is popu- 
lar it will he received. In 1823 ihe Colonization Society 
was Ihe pet child of the churches, the seminaries and the. 
colleges of the land ; but now, forsooth, because it is un- 
popular, it is cast off. Ay, once the eloquent lonsues 
voiced its praise, and the gold and silver were its tributa- 
ries where is it now ? Cast off because ills not popu- 
lar. This is raihcr har<l; in its old age too. But I^ for- 
bear 5 it is a touching theme. I return to the Lan« feenf 



52 



Fourth Night — Thursdaij — Mr. Thompson. 



inarj. Never were noMcr spirits nnti finer miuils rnn- 
gregaied logctlicr ; never in all liinc and pince a nmro 
iieroic and fjcncrous band. Dr. IJocclier liiin'^elf' has pro- 
noiincet! Iliu cnlo^^. Inwiiiil rondiiinn is the seminary 
HOW ? Lvin;; in ruins, irrolricvaMy gone ! Dr. Becclicr 
llirn sacniired honor and rcpulalion. 

Mr. Thonipsoii read exiracis Iroin an article in the Lib- 
erator, whicli went to show thai the fac-nltv al Andover, 
advised the students to be unri)niniitted on tlie dividing 
topic o( slaverv. Yes, atbled .Mr. 'riiompson, go nut un- 
committed, wail till vou pet into a pulpit and liavr il 
cushioned, and a settee in it, and then you may coininil 
3'ourself. 'J"he speaker observed, thai very ill effects had 
resulted from the failure of the students al Andover, to 
form themselves into an anli-slnvery soeiety — the evil ex- 
ample had extended to Pliillips' Aoide.iiy, Amherst Col- 
lea;c,&.c. He had been twitted ahonl it wheicver he liad 
l>een, but you may recover yoiirseUes, he aiMed, ron- 
(lcscendiiiq;ly ; there is some a))'iloj:y for you, only lei a 
snciety be formed instantly. 'I'hose who attempted lo 
show from the I'lible thai slavery was justifiable, were'pav- 
iiiof the slavehoblers' paths to hell wiih lexis of srripluie. 
Ulr. Thomp-ion enlarged upon the nierils of the refractory 
Muilenls at Lnne Seminary , «iih n most nlHindaDl siipi)ly 
of adjectives ; and the iiu-an spirited stndeiils of Ando- 
ver, although nol expressly desipiialcrf as such, were un- 
<lers1ood bv the manner of expression lo be placed in 
contrast. jVlr. 'I"hoin[)^oii ren)arked, thai siirli coiidiicl 
would not be lolernied hv the sluileiils of anv rollejje in 
Kn<;land, .'Scotland, of Ireland. This abuse of the (acul- 
Iv at Andover was more personal and pointed tlinn I have 
described; one of the faculty was called by name, but 
the severe expressions I have forirotten. He would, pro- 
lialdv, have outiiin himself, and exh.iusieil the vocal>ulary 
of opprobiniis epiihels. hail he not been inlerriipled. At 
liie coiirhision uf the lei lure, witli the siranpe inconsis- 
leiicv wliich belongs to llie man, he n-maiked. dial he had 
a III-;!! respect for llie lllember^ of ihe faculty, and that 
he would willingly sil al their leei ns a learner. 

He had only one remark lieforc he sal down. It had 
l)ern publicly staled liy a 8liiileiU of ihii! .seiniiiary, that 
Mr. 'l'liom|isnn, in n conversalioii w ilh him, had raid, that 
«>vcrv slaveholder dfirved to /i«re lux tliroal cut, and 
that his slave.* on;;lit to do it. He could not, of ••oiiise. 
Touch Inr the tintli of this; but Mr. 'rhoiiipsnii was there 
to explain. (.)n(; lliiii!;, howeviT, he couhl slate as an in- 
disputable fact, namely, that the profes.<ors of the Femin- 
firT had oignnd a document, in whirli it was a.siscrted, that 
the young man had hvcn in the eollepe lor three \ear.s, aiirl 
th;it his veracity was unimpeached and iiiiiiupeachable. If 
the utory were true — it was well that it was timely maile 
public. If the yoiin'.; man misundeistood Mr. 'riiompscm 
— he (Mr. li.) believed he formed one of a very large 
class in .America, who had fallen into similar mistakes, 
and drawn similar conelusions from the general drift ufliis 
doings and payings in that country. 

Mr. TMOMPSO.X, on risinc;, observed, that no one 
could be niiiie ready than himself to eomiiiend the gentle- 
man who hail Just resumed his seat, fi>r the courage which 
he had slmwn in dealing so frankly and (aithfiilly with him, 
(Mr. T.) in the presence of those to whom he (Mr. B.) 
^va.' compaialively a stranger, and whose favorable opin- 
ion he (Mr. 'I'.) had had many opportunities of conciliat- 
ing. He rejoiced that his opponent had. towards the end 
«>l his spceeli, attcmple(i to state fads and specify charges, 
nn.l had thus aflurdcd him an opportunity of showing how 
completely and triumphantly he could meet the charges 
liroiight against himself personally, and support the state- 
inciils he had made in reference to .America. He would 
eoniiiicnce with the .Andover slr)rj' about culling throats. 
'J'hr truth of the malti r was this. A student in the Tlie- 
ol.i_;fal Seminary, of the name of A. F. Kaufman, Jr., 
cli-:- ■;»(! him, George Thompson, with having said, in a 
pri'. ,ic coHrersnlion, lliat e'.ery slaveholder ought lo have 



his throat cut, nnl that, if llie alwdilionists preached what 
they ought to preach, they would tell every slave to cut 
his master's tliroat. Mr. Kaiifinan was from Virginia, 
the son of a siaveludder, an heir lo slave properly. 1 he 
story was first circulated in Andover, and was aflerwarda 
published in the New Voik Commercial .Adverliser, in a 
comiminication dated fnuii the Saratoja Springs. In ic- 
I»ly to the printed version, I (said .Mr. T.) printed a letter 
denying the charge, in the mo.--t solemn manner, and reler- 
riiig lo my numerous public addresses, and iimumeiable 
|>ri\ate conversations, in proof of the perfi'ctly specific 
eharacler of my views. Then came firlh a long stale- 
ineiit from Mr.'Kaufnian. with a certilicale to \\\.* veraci- 
ty and general good charai-ter, signed liy I'rofe.--sor8 
Woods, Stuart, and Emei'son, of .Anilover. Here the 
matter must have rested — Mr. Kaufuiau's charge on one 
side, and my denial on the oilier — had the eoii\erfatiou 
Ix'cn strictly private; but, foi innately fir me, there weie 
\viliie(*se8 ol every word: and this brings me to notice 
other i-ircninslaiices connected with the alfair, coiistiluling 
a most complete ctinliadictioii of the chaise. 1 was slajing 
at the time under the loofofihe Uev. Shiplev W . N\ illsoii, 
the iniiii.>i|er of '.he Melhudist Kpiscopal t'hurch in Ando- 
ver, and when I had the conversation with .Mr. Kaufman, 
in whicli the language imputed to me is alleged to have 
been uttered, there were preseni, besides ourselves, my 
hc.sl, the Kev.S. \V. Willson ; the Kev. Amos A. I'lielp*. 
ciiugrcgational clergyman, and «me of the agents of the 
American Anti-Slavery Society; the Rev. Lay Koy Sun- 
derland, iMcihoili'it ICpiseopal clergyman, aid at present 
the editor of the Zion's NValchman, New Voi k ; and the 
Hev. J.irvis (Jrcg^, now a professor in the We.-<lern Re- 
serve College, t)hto. In con.-eipicnce of the use made of 
the statement put forth by Mr. Kanlmau, I wrote to Pro- 
fessor (iiegg and ]Mr. I'liidps, re<|ue.-ting them to give 
iheir yfisimi of the comersalion in writing ; and their 
letters in reply, which, luijelher with one written without 
soliciialion, by .Mr. Smiiferland, have been publi>heil. 
Tliey nut only llatly contradict the account given by Mr. 
Kaufman, but prove that I advocated, in the ^lrollgest l.in- 
gua.»e, the doctrine of non-resistance on the part ol the 
.sla\e.s. These letters, linwever, iie\er appeared in llie 
eohunns of the paper which brought llic charge, uiid defi- 
ed me to the (ironf of niv innocence. 

It may be well to give some idea of the conversation 
out of which the chaise grexv. Mr. K.tiilnian coniplain- 
eil of the harsh lanijiiage of the abolitionists, and chal- 
lenged me to (piole a passage of scripture, ju.>lifying our 
conduct ill that respect. 1 ipioled the pa.<sage * \\ hoso 
stealeth a man and selleili liiiu, or if he be found in Iuh 
hand, he shall surely be put to death; ' and observed, that 
in this lext we had a proi>f ol' the awful ilemeril of llic 
slaveholder; lliat he was considereil worthy of dealh ; 
and thai the modern slaveholder, under the chriHiian dis- 
pensation, was not less guilty than the slaveholder under 
(he Jewish l.iw. I then reminded him of the political 
principles (d the AnieiieaMs, and cited the words of the 
Declaration of IndepeiKienee, 'UESistanck to iyrunl.i 
is obedience fa God.' I then contrasted the injuries 
inllicied on the slave, with the grievances complain- 
ed of in the Declarutinn of Independence, and argued, 
I'.iat, if the Americans deemed themselves justified in re- 
sisting to blood the payment <d' a threepenny tea tax and 
a stamp duty, how much more, upon the same principles, 
would the slave be jiisiified in culling his masters' throat, 
lo obtain deliverance from personal thraldom. Nay more, 
that every American, true lo the principles of the reMilu- 
tio-1, ought to teach the .-^l.ives lo cm their mnstcrs' throats 
— but that while these were fair fleductioiis from their 
own revolutionary principles, I held the doctrine that it 
was invariably wrong to do evil thai good might come, 
and that I dared nol purchase the freedom of ilie slaves, 
by consenting to the death of one masl'-r. 

" He (Mr. T.) had thus disposed of one of ihc most tan- 



Fourth Night — Thursday — Mr. Thompson. 



53 



gillie portion? of his opponent's Fpeech. He regretted 
there liuil not been more of matter of ficf. statement in 
tlie speech of one hour in Icogth, to wiiic.li they had just 
listened; a speeeh. which, iiovvever creditul)le to llie intel- 
lect of his opponent, on aeeoinit of its ingennity, was by 
no means creditable to his iieart. Instead of dealing 
fairly with tiie documents he (Mr. T.) had produced, and 
which contained a trne and ample statement of the views, 
feelinns, principles, jjurposes and plans ot the abolition- 
ists, iMr. lireckinridge had manufactured a series of dex- 
trous sophisms, calculated to keep out of sight the real 
merits of the question. Was it not strange, that, covered 
as that plaiform was with the documents of the abolition- 
ists, his op|)onent lu\d not tpioted one word from their 
wrinngs, but had based all he Ir.id said upon a statement 
of their principles made out by himself; and had then 
given to that statement an interpretation of his ow'n, ut- 
i.erlv at variance with all the views and doctrines enter- 
tained by the abolitionists. The gentleman had most ably 
played the part of Tom Thumb, who made the giants he 
so valiantly demolished. He would not attempt to grap- 
ple with tliat which rested altogether upon a gross mis- 
statement of the principles and views of the Abolitionists. 
He had a right to exjiect that Mr. B. would go to the 
many sources of oliicial infjrmation touching the princi- 
ples he professed to denounce; but instead, he had put 
forth a creed, as the creed of the Abolitionists of Ameri- 
ca, which was nowhere to be foimd in their writings, and 
he (Mr. 'I'.) should therefore wait until an objection had 
been taken to something they (the Abolitionists) had real- 
ly said or done. 

Mr. Breckinridge had amused them with another Aiido- 
ver story. He had read an extract from a speech said to 
have been delivered by him (Sir. T.) during the protract- 
ed meeting he had held there. He would just take the 
liberty of assuring the audience that he had never uttered 
the S|)cech which had that night been put into his month. 
It had been said that the speech was reported by a stu- 
dent. Had iMr. B. given the name of tlie student 1 — No. 
He, Mr. B. knew that it was an anonymous communica- 
tion, written by a vile enemy of a righteous cause, who 
was too much ashamed of his own productions to sign his 
name, but put the initial C. at the enA of his libellous pro- 
ductions, which were greedily copied into the pro-slavery 
papers of the United States. The reports furnished by 
that scribbler were known in Andover to be false, and 
langheil at by the students as monstrous and ludicrous per- 
versions of the truth. Upon this point also, he (iMr. T.) 
had ample docmnentary evidence. He did not wonder 
that Mr. Breckinridge had so frequently twitted him re- 
specting the nudtitude of ilocuments which he (Mr. T.) 
was in the habit of producing, it must be peculiarly un- 
pleasant to find that he (Jlr. T.) had always the docra- 
nient at hand necessary to annihilate the pretended proof 
of his opponent. He woulil now read from a report of the 
proceedings at Andover — but a very dilTerent report com- 
pared with that they had just heard — not an anonymous 
one, but signed by a respectable and pious Student in the 
Theological Seminaiy, R. Reed, Corresponding Secrefary 
of the Andover Anti-Slavery Society. As relerence was 
niiide in the extract he was going to read to a former visit, 
he would just state, that about thiee months alter his ar- 
rival in the United States, he visited Andover,' and deliv- 
ered three lectures, besides undergoing along examination 
into his principles in the College Chapel; and that on his 
return to Uoi^ton, where he was then residing, he received 
from the Institution a series of resolutions signed by up- 
wards of tiltv of the Students, expressive of their entire 
concurrence in the sentiments he had advanced, and their 
high approbation of the temper in which he had advocated 
those sentiments, and comuiending him to the blessing and 
proti'Cli<M) of heaven. He (Mr. T.) need not say that 
such a testimonial from theological students, unasked and 
UHCxpectfd, was peculiarly gratifying. 



The accoimt of his second visit in July 1835, was thus 
given in a tetter addressed to the Editor of tiie Liberator : 

' It had been previously announced that flir. Thompson 
would address us on Tuesday evening. The hour arriv- 
ed, and A large and respectable aucieuce were convened 
in the expec'ation of again listening to ihc — (Mr. Thomp- 
son liere omitted some complimentary expressions.) Al- 
ter the introductory prayer, Mr. Phelps srose, and said, 
he rcgreltetl that he was oliligcd to sl.ue that Mr. Thomp- 
son had not yet arrived in town, but he thought it prob- 
able he would soon be wiih us. He then resumed the 
subject of American Slavery. He had however uttered 
but a few sentences lielore I\lr. T. came in. His arrival 
was immediately announced from the desk, and the ex- 
pressions of salisfaclicni, manifested by the audience, told 
moie eloquently than vvortis, the estimation in ".•iiich they 
held this beloved brother, and the pleasure they lelt on 
acain enjoying the opportunity of listening to his np[)eals. 
IMr. Thompson look his seal in the desk and Mr. Phelps 
then proceeded at some leiigtli. When he closed his re- 
maiks, Mr. Thompson arose, and alter some introductory 
remaiks, answered in a powerful and eloquent manner the 
enquiry, ' Why don't you go to the Souili 1 ' 

' The first part of tlie three succeeding evenings was 
occupied by iMr. Phelps, in exposing the jaiius-faced 
monster, the American Colonization Society. v\hich he 
did in so masterly a manner, that we are quiie sure none 
ot' his auditors, save those who are wilfully blinded, will 
hereafter doubt of its being ' a fraud upon the ignorance, 
and an outrage upon the intelligence of the Community.' 
''I'liursday evening fllr. Thompson vindicated himself 
against the aspersions heaped upon him for denouncing 
Dr. Cox. I would thai all l\Ir. Thompson's friends had 
been present, anil his enemies too, for I am sure that un- 
less encased in a shield of prejudice more impenetrable 
than steel, the}' would have been compelled to acknowl- 
edge that his denunciation of Dr. Cox was just, and not 
such an instance of tiger-like malice, as some have rep- 
resented it to be. Friday evening (the evening to which 
the exiract read by Mr. tSreckinridge referred) he spoke 
of the ' armed neutrality ' of the seminary and the course 
which had been taken in the Academical Institutions of 
Andover. He is accused of wantonly aliusing our Pro- 
fessors and Teachers — of making personal attacks upon 
them. No personal attacks however were made ; no 
man's motives were impeached. He attacked PRINCI- 
PLES and not MEN : for while he would rr ntler to the 
guardians of the seminary and academies, all thai res|)ect 
which their station, and learning, and piety demands, he 
would at the same time condemn the course that had been 
pursued, as having a tendency to retaid the progiess of 
emaricipation. Let the public judge as to Ihe propriety 
of his remarks.' 

It would be recollected that the same question had been 
put to him here in Glasgow, as that which he had an- 
swered at Andover. ' Whv don't yon go to the South'?' 
He would tell his opponent on the present occasion, that 
even he could not advocate abolition sentiments in ihe 
South, purely and openly, without endangering his life. 
The reason he was able to expi-ess his views on Slavery 
and remain unmolested, was because it was known that 
he denounced the abolitionists, and advocated coloniza- 
tion. The ex])erience of Mv. Birney was in point. That 
gentleman hated slavery before he joined the abolitionists, 
and was in the habit of speaking against il, in connection 
with the colonization cause, and was permitted to do so 
without hindrance ; but when he emancipated his slaves, 
and called upon others to do likewise, npon true anti-sla- 
very principles, he was forced to fly from his residence 
and family, and was now in the city of Cincinnati. 

It had been tauntingly said, 'shew us the finils of your 
principles.' ' Where are the slaves you ha\e liberated 1 ' 
He would reply that in Kentucky, very recently, nineteen 
slaves had been liberated upon anti-slavery princqiles : 
enough to answer Mr B'« doauuid, 'point us to OJie slave 



54 



Fourth yight — Thursdai/ — 3//-. Thomi)son, 



Voiir society lins been tlie means of lihrrating.' Put thn 
nuesiion was not to Iw so tested. The alxilitionists of 
Britain were often called upon in lliOrairie way ; and their 
answer was, our principles are extending, and when they 
are snlficiently impressed ii|)on the public mind, liicre •.vill 
be a general emanci|)atioii of the ^la^es. On the 31st of 
Jnlv, 1834, they could m.i point I<> any actually free in 
conse(|uence of their elTorts; hut the night cnine and pass- 
ed away, and the miirrow dawned upon 800,000 human 
beings, "lifted by the power of anfi-slaxery principles out nf 
the legal condition of chattels, into the position of free 
Kritisli subjects. So in the United States. The princi- 
ples of Abolition would necessarily l>e sometime extcnil- 
ing, but ultimately they woul.l elie« t a change in public 
opinion, anil a corresjionding change in the ircalnicnl of 
the black man. 

Mr. Breckinridge liad disputed the truth of the fact lie 
(Mr. T.) had stated rclati\e to the iinprisDiiiiicnt and sale 
into bimdaj^e for life, in the city of \\asliini{toii.of a black 
man, justly entitled to his freeilom. He (Air. T.) triisie<l 
that in this matter also he should be able most sati»lactori- 
ly to establish his own \eraeily. The evidi-nce he wuuUI 
produce to support the stiiieinent he had mailc war, 'A 
memorial of the inliibitants of the District of Columbia, 
IJ. S., siyned by 1000 of the iiuist respectable ritixenn of 
the District, and picseiiteil to Congress, .March 21, 1828, 
then referred to the (.'••minitlee on ihe District, and on the 
nioiion of Mr. liubbard, of .\ew Hampshire, Feb. 9, 
1835, and <irdered to be printed.' ile (.Mr. 'I'.) Iichi in 
his hand the genuine document printed by < 'oi!j,'re»s, • 22«l 
Congress, 2d Session, llo. of Kepii. Doc. .No. 140.' 
The following woo tlic part containing the fact he hud 
mentioned : 

' A colored man, who slated that he was entitled lo 
freedom wn> taken up a-i a runaway slave, and lodged in 
the jail of \\n>liinK'on City, llo was hdxeriised, l.ut no 
one appeariii*^ to claim him, ho was accojdmj; to law, 
jnit up at pul)lic auction tor the payment of lii> jnil fee*, 
and SOLI) as a SLAVE (oi LIIK. Ile wa> purcliii>rd 
bv a slave trader, who was not icquircd lo give scriiiily 
fiir his reinniiiin!^ in the District, and he was soon slopped 
at Alexandria lor one of the southern siales. An attempt 
was made by some benevolent indiviiluals lo hare the 
sale postponed until his claim lo Ircedom could l>e inves- 
li''aied: but ilieir cflorts were unnvniliiij; ; and thus wn^ 
nimman bein- SOLD wilo FKIU'i: TUa L L'.f)M)AGi: 
at the capita! of the freest governnient on earth, without 
even a pretence of trial, or an allegation of crime.' 

lie should bo plad to find that Mr. B. had a .•atisfactory 
explanation of this most revoltin>^ ca.te. Such things 
were enough to make any man spiak hardly of America. 
If he (Mr."^ Thompson) said severe things of that country, 
it was not, heaven knew, because he did not love that 
country, for his heart's desire and prayer was, that she 
mi<jht soon be free from every drawback upon her pros- 
perity and usefulness. He told llie.«e things because they 
ought to be known anil brande<l as they de.scr\ed, that the 
nation s;uilly of tliein inii-ht repent and abandon them. 
He was UMt the enemy of America that faithfully pointed 
out her follies and crinies. No. He was the man that 
loved .•Vmerica, that seeing her like some lofty tree spread- 
inj abroad her branches, and furnishing at once shelter 
and sustenance to all w ho sought refuge under her shade, 
observed with sorrow and dismay, a canker worm at the 
root, ihrealeningto consume her beauty and her strength, 
and could not rest day nor night in his clTorts to bring so 
great and glorious a nation to a sense of her danger, and 
an apprehension of her duty. Let others do the pleasant 
work of flattery and panegyric, and 1-e it his more ungra- 
cious but not less salutary work of proclaiming hei^ errors 
and denouncing her sins, until she learns to do jujlice and 
lo\e mercy. 

He, .^Ir. T. thought he might with some justice com- 
plain of the manner in which he had been treated by his 



opponent. He, Mr. T. had made every concession which 
Iriidi and justice would warrant to Mr. \\. — had honored 
his motives, and studiously separateil him fron* those upon 
whom his he^iviest censures had fallen — the lovers and 
abettors of the slave system. But a similar course had 
not been pursued touards him. In many ways his mo- 
tives had been impeached, and his statements so denied, 
ns to ilirow discredit upon his intentions in making them. 
In a word, Mr. I5's whole course had l>een wanting in that 
Courtesy which he had a ri^ht to expect would be exhibit- 
ed by one disputant towards another. At the same lime, 
he e.irnestly desired .Mr. IL to slate freely all he thought 
of his motives and conduct. 

A few moments yet remaining, he would say n wor<l or 
two ill reference to the designs altributed to the .Abolition- 
ists, in re«()Oct of the privileges to which the colored peo- 
ple were enlilled. He denied that the AlKditioiiisl.4 hail 
ever ii>ked for the blacks, either in regard lo pidilii al i ighlu 
or soci.il privilc>gcii, anything unreasonable. They Uhked 
for their immediale release irom personal Londage, and h 
subse(|uent parlicipalion of civil rights, according lo the 
amount in which they |>ossessed the f|iialiticiitions de- 
manded of others. \\ here, in the dorunienls of Aboli- 
tionists, was the doctrine of insl.'int aiul universal eiilran- 
chisecnuiil, of which so much had been heard \ He knew 
■lot the .Abolitioiii.xi who had contended for Mirh a tiling. 
He n^ke.| nothing for him over aiul above what would be 
frei Iv In^tovved on him if he were while. Oh, it was an 
awful crime lo have u black skin ! There lay all the dis- 
i|ualicalion. 

The great fault which Mr. B. seemed to find with the 
principles of the Abolilioni.ti was that ihej were too 
lofiy ; too grand; too little accoinmodaled to ihe spii il of 
the age; thai, in (he aclopiion of their views ami (iriiici- 
ples, iliry liiid not conrulled the manners, and h':ibils, and 
piejudires of their coimtty ; and the whole of his (.Mr. 
Bleckinridge'^) aruuineni had \ycon in favor of expedien- 
cy. Ile hated (hat word * expediency ' as ordiiiarily u-'-d. 
It contained, ns he had often said, the doctrine of devils. 
It was io congr>iiial with our deprmed nature lo make 
ourselves a little wiser than tjod — lo believe that we un- 
derstood U-tler than (iod's servants, of old, the Im-^i way 
of reforming inankiud. Oh I that men would lake the 
Almit;lity at his word, and simply doing (heir duty, leav- 
iiifr Him to lake care of conseipiences. Doubil<-ss the 
dauntless Hebrew, Daniel, was deemed in his day a rasTi 
man. He ini^lii so vei) easily have escaped the snare laid 
for him. W'iiv did he not go to the back of the house \ 
Why not rliui the window 1 Why could he not pray si- 
lentiv to the .«earcher of he;irts 1 Duniel scorned com- 
promise. He prayed a.< he had ever praved — aloud — vvilli 
his window open, and his face to Jerusalem. He Ixddly 
met the consef|uences. He walked (o the lion's den — he 
enlered, he remained ; but lo ! on the third day he came 
forth unhurt, to tell luankind to the end of tin>e, that, if 
they *vill do their duty, and trust in Daniel's (iod, no 
weapon foriiieil against them shall prosper, but they shall 
ill His strength stop the mouths of lions, and put to (light 
the armies of the aliens. 

,Mr. BRECKINRIDCi'Esaid that, so far a» the pres- 
ent respectable audience was concerned, he would innke 
but a single remark. iMr. Thompson and he had already 
trespassed on their patience, but they woiiM probably do so 
no longer than to-morrow night; at least, so lar as he 
was concerned, he thought it iiiiiiecessary, if not improper. 
The chief reason of his [.Mr. B's] coming here was to de- 
fend tiie Churches, Ministers and Christians of America, 
from the fal.-e and dreadliil charges which h;ul been pro- 
claimed over Britain against them by -Mr. Thomp.son, and 
which he had challenged all the world to give liim an :)p- 
portunity to prove. Upon this topic that gentleman had, 
as vet, fought shy. He could wail on bin no longer. 
They might expect therefore, that next evening he would 



Fourth Night — Thursday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



55 



take up that subject \vliotl)ei--5Ir. Tliompson should follow 
him or not. If the audiwice considered that tlie general 
subject liad been sufliciently discussed already — as Ironi 
some manifestations lie was inclined to suppose — he would 
at once retire. (SJisjht hissing.) Was he to consider 
that as an answer in the aflirmative 1 (Renewed hissing.) 
Why, then, he had erred in laying any of the blame of 
trying their patience on Mr. Thompson, and it was his 
duly to take it all to himself; and when he returned home 
to tell his countrymen that no charges were too gross or 
calumnious to beenlertained against them — nor any length 
c( lime, a weariness in hearing them — but that llie hear- 
ing of defence and proof of innocence was an insupport- 
able weariness. (Increased hissing, with cries of no.) 
'J'he only remaining supposition was, that Mr. Thompson's 
partii^ans had become convinced he needed succor, and 
therefore gave it most naturally in the form of organised 
violence. (The hissing was again attempted, Init was put 
down by the general voice of ihe meeting.) Mr. T., he 
said, had at length brought accusations against him, and 
had complained that although he (Mr. T.) had repeatedly 
and cordially expressed good feelings towards him, (Mr. 
B.) he had, in no instance, returned this kindness or jus- 
tice; nor said a word favorable to him throughout the 
debate. He would appeal to the Chairman to know dis- 
tinctly, if IMr. 'I'hompson had any right to demand, or if 
he (Mr. B.) were bound to express, his opinion of that 
individual. Because, continued Mr. B., as I have in the 
beginning said, that Mr. T., as an individual could be 
nothing to me, or my countrymen, I have preferred to be 
silent as to him individually. If he is right, howevc'r, in 
bringing such things as charges against me, and continues 
to demand my opinion, 1 will give it fearlessly. But let 
him bewaie — for I will call no man friend who gains his 
bread by calumniating my country. Nor can he who tra- 
duces my brethren — my kimlreil — my home — all that I 
most venerate and revere — honor me so much as by tra- 
ducing me. They had been told that Mr. J. G. Birney 
had fled from Kentucky, and left his wife and children 
behind hiin in great danger, he being obliged to ilee for 
his life. It was true, he believed, that Mr. Birney, ex- 
cellent and beloved as he was, had found it best to emi- 
grate from that state. But that he held fled, rested, he 
believed, on' Mr. T's naked assertion. That he had left 
hi.s wife and children behind, believing them to be in per- 
sonal danger, was a thing which it would retiuire amaz- 
ingly clear |)roof to establish, against the gentleman in 
question. B.iit he would show to the meeting that there 
was one individual who could do such an act. Mr. B. 
then read the following extract fn.-m a speech delivered at 
a meeting in Edinburgh on the 28th January, 1836: — 

He stood there not to defame America. It was true 
they had persecuted him ; but that was a small mailer. 
It was true they had hunted him like a partridge on the 
mountains ; thai he had to lecture with the assassin's 
kuile glancing before his eyes; AND HIS WIFE AND 
HIS LITTLE ONES WERE IN DANGER OF FALL- 
ING BY THE RUTHLESS HANDS OF 31URDER- 
ERS. 

And again, from the preface to the same pamphlet in 
whii^h the above cited speech is found, a pamphlet, in- 
tended perhaps for America, and called a 'Voice to her 
from the Metropolis of Scotland,' the following paragraph 
occurs : — 

Mr. Thompson having proceeded by way of St. John's, 
New Brunswick, embarked on board of a British vessel 
for Liverpool, where he arrived on the 4th of January, 
and on the I2ih was happily joined by his family who 
had left New York on the 16ili December. 

So that it appeared from these statements that Mr. 
Thom|)son, believing that the Americans meant to take 
away the lives of his wife and children, left thein to their 



fate while he prudently consulted his own safety by flight. 
In regard to the alleged case of the sale of a free man of 
color, at Washington city, the proof stood thus: Mr. T. 
broadly asserted, again and again, that a free man had 
been sold, without trial, into eternal slavery. He, (Mr. 
B.,) without knowing the especial facts relied on, but 
knowing America and knowing abolitionism, had flatly 
and eniphaticalK' denied that such a thing ever did or 
could happen in the District of Columbia. JMr. Thomp- 
son reasserts, and triumphantly proves it, as he savs. 
His first step in the proof is, a printed scra|>, which, he 
says, is the identical memorial laid on the table t>f the 
Senate of the United States, who, as they received and 
printed it, he insinuates, thereby avouched its truth. 
Upon which principle I also avouch all Mr. T's charges, 
as I hear them and consent to their publication. But, he 
adds, there were once 1000 signatures to this document, 
all witnesses of the truth of its contents. To which I re- 
ply — I see no name to it at all now; and secondly, if 
there were a million, the paper does not assert, much less 
prove, what Mr. T. produces it to sustain. It merely de- 
clares that the man said he loas free ; without even ex- 
pressing the opinion of the writer or any signer of the pa- 
per. Now, upon this case and this proof, it is nearly cer- 
tain that the man was not free, and extremely probable 
that the whole case is fictitious. For the gknious writ of 
Habeas Corpus, one of the main pillars of your liberty — 
a privileged writ which no English judge, for his right 
hand, would dare illegally refuse; that writ is one of the 
great heir looms we got with our Anglo-Saxon blood, and 
rs dearer to us than that blood itself. Here, by Act of 
Parliament, you do smnetiines susjjend this writ; with us 
the tyrant does not breathe who would dare to whisper a 
wish for its suspension. Now, if this man was, or believ- 
ed himself to be free, what hindered him, from the mo- 
ment of his arrest to that of his sale, from demanding and 
receiving a fair trial '] Will it be said he did not know 
his rights 1 But will it be pretended that the 1000 sign- 
ers of the memorial, the many abolitionists at Washingtoa 
of whom Mr. T. boasts, did not know his rights — in a 
land where every man knows and is ready to defend his 
rights ■? If they did not, they were thrice sodden asses, 
fit only to be tools in gulling mankind into ihe belief of a 
tale that had not feasibility enough to gull a child. Upon 
the face of his own proof, Mr. Thompson had shown that 
he had not the slightest authority for the assertions he had 
so often made in arguing this case; by all of which he in- 
tended to make men believe that in America it was not 
uncommon to sell free men into slavery! IMr. Breckin- 
ridge then resumed the consideration of Abolition prin- 
ciples; the third of which was that all prejudice against 
color is sinful, and that everything which induces us to re- 
fuse any social, personal, religious, civil, or political rights 
to a black man, which is allowed to a white one, not su- 
perior to him in moral or intellectual qualifications, is a 
jjrejudice, and therefore sinful. He believed this to be a 
fair statement of their principles on that head. And he 
would, in the first place, remark concerning them, that 
even if they were true, which he denied, the discussion of 
them was worse than useless. It could not advance the 
cause of emancipation, nor improve the condition of the 
free blacks. And whatever the abolitionists might say, 
the slaves when freed, would follow their own course and 
inclinations; nor could the declaration of an abstract 
firinciple alter either their conduct or that of the whites, 
in any material degree. If, as Mr. Thompson asserted, -i 
prejudice against color was the national sin of America, 
the plague spot of the nation, it had just as often been as- 
serted by others that the prejudice itself originated at first 
out of the relation of slavery. The latter was the disease, 
the former a mere symptom. If there were no black slaves 
on earth there would no longer be any aversion against 
that color, which went beyond the invariable and mutual 
restiaints of nature, or was tolerated by a proper ChriS' 



56 



Fourth ISight — Thursday — Mr. Brcchinriilge. 



liiin liljertv. They know little of liuinan prcjiitlicns who 
do not kniiw that they arc nixrc in\iiii'il>lc in llm litilk of 
inaiikin I than tlie dictates of i-easun, or the impulses of 
virtne itself. The case of the aholitioni-sln must therefore 
be pronmniced foolish on their own siiowios- For they 
undertook to hreak down the stron^jeot of ail prejudiies, 
as tiiey themselves say, as a rondilion precedent to the 
doing of acts whieh, to do at all, rc(piireil great pecuniary 
sacriiices anil a high tone of moral feeiin:;. lint if, as I 
iihall try to show, their doctrines are contrary to ail the 
Course of nature and all the teachings of Providence — 
their hehavi(jiir is to lie considered little rdsc than sheer 
madness. Again, even if it did not prejudice the case of 
the iilave, as none can deny it did — to agitate this (|ues- 
tion of color, and mix it up inseparahly with the (|nirsti(>n 
of freedom, of what use was it to him \ If the whites 
treat him with scorn, give liim his liberty and he may |)ity, 
forgive, or i(;tnrn the scoin. W'liat advanlr.ge was he to 
gain as a ylave, I'y the discussion, even if no harm came 
from it 1 What advantage was he to obtain as a fieeman, 
even if its agitation did not for ever prevent him h'oin l«;- 
ing free \ It is, in all its aspects, the most remarkable il- 
lustration of a weak, heady, alid ignorant fajialicism, 
which this age has produced, and has U'eii of them all the 
most fruitful of evil. The truth was, that many of the 
lights and privil(^;cs of free persons of colur were l>etter 
(iectirtid to them in America, than correspciiubng righli< and 
|)riviloges wcr(! to the white |)e;ioaiitry of any other couii- 
trv on the Globe. 

Willi regard to the religiotis rights of colored |>ersuiis, 
he could only say tliat he had sat in I'rcsbvleries with 
them, that he had dis|>i-nsed the sacrament to tiicm togeth- 
er will) while persons; and that he and nuihiliidcs of 
others had sat in the same class with them at our then- 
logical seminaries. As for all the stories whicli .Mr. T. 
was accustomed to tell about Dr. .Spruguc having part of 
Ins church cmlaineil round for persons of color, \h: knew 
personally nothing, and noticed it only because it was told 
as a specimen st<n°y. He merely knew that Dr. Spraguc 
was accounted a benevole.nt man, and comnion charity re- 
(piired him not readily to beli(-ve any thing of him in a 
bad sense which could be jn.-<tiricd in n gooil one. But if 
there was any thing so very exclusive and revolting in 
these marks of superiority or inferioritv in u church, let 
thcin not look to America alone; not limit their symya- 
thies exclusively to the blacks. In almost every church 
in England in w liich he had been, from the Catliedral of 
St. Paul's at London, to the curate's village church, he 
had seen seals railed oil', or curtained, or cui>hioiied, or 
elevated, and somehow distinguished from the rest. And 
when he eiupiired why these things were so, and for whose 
accommodation, the answer was ready, 'Oh, that is for 
niy Lord this; or ."^ir Harry that; or -Nlr. Pn-bendso ami 
so; or the Lord Bishop of what not.' -And very often 
even in dissenting chapels, he had seen part of ilie seats 
of an inferior descriplion in particular parts of the house, 
which lie had as often been told were I'rcc seats for the 
poor ; an arrai^ement which has struck him as favorably 
as the similar one in Dr. Spragne'.* church did Mr. T. — 
the reverse. This preparation of free and separate seats 
for the poor is, if he is rightly informed, nearly universal, 
in both the .Scottish and English Kslablisments, whenever 
the poor have seats in llieir clinches. Mow, if Mr. 
Thompson wished to begin a system of levelling — if he 
meant to preach universal equality, why did he not begin 
here 1 Why did he not try to convert Earl Crey, and 
Lord Melliourne, instead of going across the Atlantic in 
order to try his experiments on the despised Americans 1 
As to the civil rights of the free blacks in America, the 
most erroneous notions were entertained in both coun- 
tries, but especially here. But the trulh was, they enjoy- 
ed greater cicil riglits than the peasantry of Britain her- 
self — and those riglils were fully as well protected in their 
exercise. Their rijht to aciiuirc projiti ty of any kind 



any where, without being lieilged about with exclusive 
privileges and ancient corporalions; their right to enjoy 
that property, ununcnmliered with poor rules, and church 
rates, and tithes, and tiends, and untold taxes and vexa- 
tions; their right to pm'sue trades, callings, or business, 
without regard to uMnopolies, ami inmimerable, vexatious 
and worrving preliminaries; their right to be free in per- 
son — subject iieiiher to forcible impressment, nor the sur- 
veillance of an innumerable police : their right to be 
cared for in sickness and destitution, without ipufslimisof 
ilomicile previously settled; their right to the speedy and 
cheap adniinislratioii of justice wiihoiii ' sale, denial, or 
delay' — and unattended with ruinous expenses; tlii-se, 
with whatever may truly be considered civil rights, — aic 
enjtiyed by the free colored people in nearly every part of 
America, to a degree utterly unknown by indlioiis of 
British subjects, not only iii ihe Ea-t and West Indies, — 
but in Irelan I, and even in England il.-elf. If any rights 
had been denied I hem, as the fidlovv ing of certain pro- 
(essions — as that of a minister of the gohpel, for exairple, 
which Virginia had lalely done, he could puiiit iheir al- 
teiitioii lo the time when these laws were pas-sed, and 
show that it was not till after the era uf abolition ; and 
thai it would never have U'en, but for its fury. It w au 
■lot till after they had Jeuriieil with bell, book, and caiiille, 
to curse the wiiite man, mid icarh sedition and murder to 
the slaves. The iial'ire of pulilicul righls claimed by 
.'Mr. Thoinp.son for llie blacks, in his sweeping claim to 
liave them put on a footing of |)erfecl etpialily with llm 
whiles, seemed to Ixt ntlcrty unknown lo him, both as to 
their origin and cliaracler. Whilst he advocated a 
srln-me in America, which demandeil the most exleiii-ive 
political changes, and cl. limed polilii'.al rigiilsas ihebirlh- 
right of certain parties ; he still periisted in assuring tliu 
British nation that he had never touched the Mibjecl in a 
political aspect I jVow, what poliiicul rights does he 
d lim for the free blacks — and denounce all America for 
refusing, on account of this prejudice ug.iinsl ndor I Is 
it right of sulfrage — is it right of ollice, is it perfect, |)er- 
soiial, and political equably T If not, what does he mean? 
But if he means thai, it already exists in all the free 
slates, and in sever.il of the slave slates, in behall of the 
free bl.icks, to a far greater extent than the same exists in 
Englan>t,:is iK'tween the privileged classes and the bulk of 
the nation, though all are white. I l>oldly assert, that a 
greater |).irt t)l the free men of color in America, did en- 
joy perfect pcditical privileges at the i ise of abohlioiiism, 
than of the white men of Britain at this day. There were 
more free black voters in Mortli America, in proportion 
to the free black race, than there are while voters in ail 
Britain, in proportion to the white inhabitants of the Brit- 
ish empire. .And this, even leaving out the red millions 
of the East and the black thousands of the West Indies; 
— and making the Reform Bill the basis of calculation ; 
If some have been deprived of these privileges — let abo- 
litionists bl.imc themselves. If, in most places, these pri- 
vileges have been dorm.int, it only proves that their ex- 
ercise w;i3 a very s<;condary advaniagif — and that the 
present outcry is but the more wicked and absurd. As to 
the social rights which were demanded for the slaves and 
free blacks both, there seemed to be a complete confusion 
of ideas in the minds of the abolitionisis. Di<l they mean 
to say that all distinctions and gradations of rank were 
ini(|uilous, or did they mean that men ought to enjoy 
rights because they were black, which were justly denied 
to the whites ? \\'ho had ever heard of a iKiblemaii mar- 
rying a gip.«y 1 or, of a King of England marrying a 
laborer's daughter ^ •'But, the fact was, everything tend- 
ed lo prove, that in preaching against the alleged preju- 
dice against color, the abolitionists were really advocating 
general amalgamation. There were three opinions mi 
the subject : — 1st. That in a slatj situated like most ol 
those in America, public policy rP<|Uired the mixture of 
the races to be prohibited; so lh.it, in nearly all the 



Fourth Night — Thursdaij — Mr. Breckinridge. 



57 



!!fntR5i, interiTi!irria;Tes were pi-nliil)ited,anrl in many states 
tliey were punislialile as a felony, will) fine or imprison- 
ment. ~il. 'I'hat liie practice was inexpeiiient. Init so far 
innocent as to be left to the discretion of the parties, 
wiiich he i)elieved was the opinion of soher minded people 
j^enerallv in this conntry. 3rd. That as the chief prac- 
tical objection to it, is a sinfnj prejndice against color, 
that prejndice is to be broken down, and the contrary 
ri>rht npheld, as neithei improper nor inexjiedient, when 
voluntarily exercised. This last, or even a nmch stronger 
advocacy of amalgamation, is the doctrine of abolition- 
ism ; facts dednceable from their Declaratiini of Indepen- 
dence, and fomid in the whole scope of ilielr writings and 
Fpccches. Mr. Breckinridge then went on to show the 
litter folly, and, as he believed, wickedness of amalgama- 
tion ; or so acting or talking, as to create the nniversal 
impression, that that was what was meant. In the first 
place, the residt after which the abolitionists seemed to 
strive, was impossible; in the most strict sense of the 
terms, natnrally or physically impossible. He by no 
means meant to contend with some free thinkers, who, to 
upset the IMosaic Cosmogony, asserted that the different 
races of men were not frnitfnl if intermixed beyond a 
given and very near point. Bnt what he meant was this, 
all who believe the Mosaic account of the origin of the 
human race, must, of course, l)elieve they were ail once of 
one complexion. Now, if they could all be amalgamated 
and made of one complexion again, those causes, whatev- 
er they are, which have produced so great diversities, 
would, after a time, re-produce them. And having grati- 
fied Mr. Thompson and his friends, by universal levelling 
and mixing the world, would soon find that they had done 
a work which nature did not permit to stand; and would 
a^ain behold, in one belt, upon the earth's surface, the 
black, in another the red, and in a third the white man. 
And to whatever degree they carried their principles into 
practice, they would find proportionately great counter- 
actin;? causes — continually fighting against them, and con- 
tinually requiring the re-production of their amalgamated 
breed, from the original stocks. This, then, is a fatal ob- 
jection to their .scheme ; the course of nature is against it. 
But, again, he would say, as a second fundamental objec- 
tion against all such schemes, that whenever, in the past 
history of the world, the various races of men had been 
allowed freely to amalgamate, one of two concomitants 
had universally attended the process, namely, polygamy 
or prostitution. If either of tliese be permitted, as inno- 
<:ent, amalgamation can easily be pushed through its first 
stage; without one, at least, of these two engines, no pro- 
gress has ever yet been made in this work of fighting 
against the overwhelming course of events. He regretted 
he had not time to go over these branches of the argu- 
ment with that pains which he could wish. If he had, he 
believed, notwithstanding all that Mr. Thompson had said, 
or might say, about sojihistry, they could, each of them, 
F)e demonstrated as clearly as that gentleman could demon- 
strate any proposition in geometry. Again, in the third 
place, he believed, from what was contained in the Bible, 
that in preserving, distinct from each other, the three 
families of mankind, as descended from the three sons of 
Koah, God liad great, and yet undeveloped, purposes to 
accomplish. How far the whole history of his providence 
led to the same conclusion, he must leave to their own re- 
flections to determine. But, on the admission of such a 
truth as even possible — it was surely natural to look fos- 
something in the structure of nature that would effectually 
prevent the obliteration of either race. One may fi^d 
this in those general considerations which niake intermar- 
riages, in this view, inexpedient : or, another in the innate 
and absolute instincts of the creature. But both will re- 
ceive with suspicion, as an undoubted and fundamental 
rule of christian morals — a ('ogma which requires us to 
contend against the clear leadings of providence, and the 
goad and merciful intentions of our Creator. We tnxour 

8 



faith but slightly when we believe, that as so'^ii as these 
purposes of mercv and glory are accomplished, and tlie 
.signal revolution in the social condiliou of iiian now con- 
tended for, shall be reciu'tred by the Almighty, we may 
look for a channel of comivmnication between him and 
the ivorl 1, more in accor<lance with the spirit of his Son, 
than any whicli has yet brought us messages on the suii- 
ject. '\' he four ill objection which stru(ds him against this 
whole procedure was, that in point of fact, the world lias 
need ot every race that now exists on its surface. It has 
taken forty centuries to adjust the nicely balanreil anil 
adapted relatiims and proportions of a vast and roni|)li- 
cated structiM-e, — whi(di the finger of all-pervading w isdc 
has it.'-elf guided in all the steps of its developenient. And ; 
now, a stroke of the pen is to su')vert it all — and one dic- 
tum, of the world knows not whom, accomplish the most 
stupendous revolution which all these forty centuries have 
witnessed. Suppose the end gained. If any one race 
now existing was obliterated, or very materially altered 
in its physical condition — how large a proportion of the 
world's surfice Would become speedily depopulale<l, and so 
remain until the present condition of things were restored' 
If this could happen as to every race but o»e^— wli.it a 
wreck would the earth exhibit! He who will look with 
a christian's <!ve abroad upon the families of men^ must 
feel that to acomplish the great hopes his heai t has con- 
ceived for this niineil world, — he needs every race that 
now peoples it ; and must see the hand of God in arrest- 
ing so sfieedily and so signally this pernicious heresy. In: 
ihe fifth place, he suggested an argument against amalga- 
mation, which at once showed the injustice of the outcry 
against America, and the total inconsiderateness of Mr. 
Thompson and his party. The fact was, that this preju-- 
dice of color — as it was called — was in all respects mu- 
tual ; and so far from being the pecnliar sin of America,, 
was the common instinct of the human race, and existed 
as really, if not as strongly, on the side of the colored' 
population as on that of the whites. In proof of this,. 
Mr. Breckinridge cited the case of Hayti, where no man 
is allowed the rights of citizenship, unless a eertaiir portion' 
of black blood runs in his veins, and that of Richard LaiT-- 
der, who, while travelling in the interior of Africa, as the' 
servant of Park, was looked upon with comparative favor 
by the natives on account of his dark complexion, while' 
his master, who was of a very fair complexion, was far' 
less a favorite on that account. The North American In-- 
dians and the blacks more readily intermixed than the' 
Indians and the whites, while the latter connexion, which' 
is not indeed uncommon, is fiirmed by the marriage of ai 
\vhite man with a stjuaw ; never, or most rarely, of ar^' 
Indian and a white woman, the slight and most exagger-- 
ated number of mulattoes, are nearly without exception,, 
the otrs[)ring of white men and cidored wo.men. These 
facts seemed to show the reality antl nature, or the mutuafi 
aversion of which I have spoken ; an aversion never over- 
come but in gross minds. And the whole current of re- 
mark proves that those who attempted to promote amal- 
gamation are figliting equally against the purposes of Prov- 
idence, the conviction.s of reason, and the best impulses- 
of nature. He had much to say which time failed himi 
to say, on the spirit in which the abolition had been advo- 
cated in America. He would, therefore, merely remark 
whether it might be taken as a compliment, or the rever.'^e, 
that the siiirit of all Mr. Thompson's speeches, which he 
had heard in' read — might give them a tolerable idea of 
the spirit of abolition every where: a spirit whi(di many 
seemed to consider as from above, but for himself he pray- 
ed to be preserved from any such spirTt. He had much 
also to say upon the malignant feeling and spirit of insub- 
ordination wliich had been produced by the discussion of 
these questions in the breasts of multitudes of free c ' •■•ed 
people. The rights, of which so much had been 
this country, were as often produced by the inl- 
and insolence of these deluded people, as by t' 



53 Fourth Night — Thursday — Mr. BrecktnriJgc. 

\iolenrr an;! prpjiirlircs nftlie lo\vei<t rliisscA of ilin whites, ern country; and whicli led to furh stern, and but the 

In (•.(inse(uu^nr,i- of ilie iiilliifiu-c ol llie J;i<-i>l)ini(;il priiici- more uiiliiippy, if nfCPe;sary, conse(|Ucnrec. It l)H(i liecn 

pics of tli<.' iiUnlaioiiist.-", in;iny fret: roloi<-(l ^tfrviiiits |pft eaid in juslilication of his conduct by Mr. 'I'luunpson, that 

-iMMploviiipnt.s tlicv hiid hfid (or years: Ix-cinse the claim per.sna.'ion had never yet induced any one to relax hiis hold 

then iirsl set np.'of petfcct doinesiic equaiily with their on slave* — and that, as lor America in particular, she 

masters was refused; while many ca<e» of insult to fe- wouKI never be made to feel aught on the subject, till her 

males, in the streets of our cities, .f ijjnalized the t^anie sea- pride and fears were aw.ikened. To that he would reply, 

Bon and spirit. He had al-o inucli to say of the wide that as regarded pride, pei haps A tneiica had her share of 

spread feeling, looking towards iinmediale deliverance, il ; but if abidilion was not to be looked for till her feais 

from a distance, and by force, whiih sudilenly, and, if the granted it, he apjjrehended they woulil have sntlicient time 

nboliliiinists are innocent as ihcv pielend, miraculously got yet left to send Mr. 'I'liompann on sevc'-al new vovnge* 

iJOdseasion of the minds of the slaves all over the iJouilr- before tJi© wliol's country was frightened into lii< leriu*. 



DISCUSSION 



FIFTH NIGHT— FRIDAY, JUNE 17. 



Mr. BRECKINRIDGE snid the order of the exercises 
of this evening had, without tlie fnult of any one, placed 
him in ,i position wliirii was not tlie most natm-ai. Con- 
sidering tiiat it was his duly to support the negative of 
tlie point for this eveninjj's discussions, it wonid have 
been most natural had the affirmative been first brought 
out. He fiaid this arrangement uas not the fault of any 
one, becauiJe it was not known that the point would (all to 
bo discussed on this particular eveninii;; forbad it lallen 
on last ni}(ht or to-morrow night, the order would have 
been as it ought to be. His position was however made 
somewhat better by the fact, that nothing which Mr. 
Thompson could sav this evening iti an hour or two, could 
alter the assertions which he had already repeatedly made 
and published in Britain. Since the noiiceof this discus- 
sion had been published, he had, through the providence 
of God, been put in possession of six or sevn papers and 
pamiihlpts containing the substance of what had been said 
by Mr. Thompson throughout the country, and reiterated 
by associated bodies of his friends under his eye. After 
reading these carefidly, he fliund himself pretty fully pos- 
sessed of that individual's charges and testimony against 
the ministers, private christians, and churches of Ameri- 
ca ; he would therefore take them as he found ihem in 
those publications, while Mr. Thompson's presence would 
enable him to explain, correct, or deny anv thing that 
might be erroneously stated. The first thing hesli(nild at- 
tempt to do, was to impeach the competency of Mr. 
Thompson as a witness in this or any similar case. Mr. 
Thompson had shown that he was utterly incompetent, 
wisely to gather, and faithfully to report, testimony on 
any subject involving great and coinplicated principles. 
He did not wish to say any thing personally ofVensive to 
Rlr. Tliompson ; but he must be pl;>in and he would first 
produce proof of what he said, which was as it regarded 
this whole nation perfectly ad hominem. He would show 
the audience what Mr. Thompson had said of them; and 
then they would better judge wliat was bis competency to 
be a witness against the Americans. At a meeting in the 
Hopeton Rooms at Edinburgh, since his return from the 
United States, Mr. Thompson said, — 

' VVe were really under a worse bondage liiat ilia slaves 
of tlie Uiiiied Slates. We kissed our chains and hugged 
our fellers. VVe were governed by our drunken appetite. 

Tiie lecturer in the concluding portion of his address, 
depicted in a tone of high moral feeling, t he degraded 
coiidiiion of Great Britain as a nation, in consequence of 
her extreme drunkenness. He shewed that habits of in- 
temperance, or feelings and prejudices generated by in- 
temperance, pervaded every class from the highest to the 
lowest, the richest to ihepoorest. Statesmen bowed upon 
the allar of expediency ; and, above all, the sanctuary 
was not clean. As a Christian nation we were paralyzed 
in our efTorls to evangelize the world — partly by the mil- 
lions upon millions aclually expended upon ardent spirits 
— partly by the selfish and demoralizing feelings which 
this sensual indulgence in particular was known to pro- 
duce. How could we, as a nation, upbraid America with 
her system of slavery when we ourselves were but ghiry- 
ing in a voluatary slavery of a thousand limes more de- 
fili.if and abominable dejcripiion ? In our owu couniry, 



it might he saiil that there wa^. a* it were, a coiispirary 
agiiinsi llic bodies and souls of liar people.' 

Now in any Court of Justii-e, he would take his stand 
upon the fact that the man who made that speech must be 
a movomaniac ; and he believed no competent tribunal, 
alter hearing it, would receive his testimony as to the char- 
acter or conduct ot any nation on the face of the earth. 
Or if there lingered a doubt on the subject, he should 
show from the burden of his charges against America — 
that he sjioke in the same general spirit, and nearly in 
the very same terms of her, as of Britain, although the 
fault found with each country was totally difTerent. He 
spoke of each as the very worst nation on earth, because 
of the special crime charged. Any man who coulrl allow 
himself to say, that the two most enlightened nations on 
earth— were in substance the two most degraded nations 
on earth ; who could permit himself to bring such railing 
accusations — successively against two great people, on 
account of ilie sins of a small portion of each — wliicli he 
had looked at till he could see nothing else, and with the 
perseverance of a gold leaf beater, exercised his ingenuity 
in stretching out to the utmost limits, over each communi- 
ty; a man who not only can see little to love any where, 
that does not derive its complexion from himself, — and 
who, the moment he finds a blot on his brethren, or his 
country, instead of walking backwards and hiding it with 
the filial piety of the elder sons of Noah— mocks over it 
with the rude and unfeeling bitterness of Canaan; such a 
man is worthily iaipeached, as incompetent to testify. — 
Nay I put the issue where Mr. Thompson has put it. If 
this nation be such as he has described it to be — I de- 
mand with imaiisweraUle emphasis, — how can it dare to 
call us, or any other people to account, on any subject 
whatever 1 If, on the other hand, what he has said of 
this nation be false, — I ecjually demand — how can he be 
credited in what he says of us — of any other nation under 
the sun 1 After this caveat against all thatsuch a witness 
could say, he would in the first place observe, that all the 
accusations brought by Mr. Thompson against Americans, 
were imbued with such bitterness and intemperance, as 
ought to awaken suspicion in the minds of all who hear 
them. There was visible not only a violent national an- 
tipathy against that whole country, but also a strong pre- 
judice in (iivor of the one side and against the other, in the 
local parties there, which before any impartial tribunal, 
ought greatly to weaken any credit that might otherwise 
be attached to his testimony. Besides an open hostility 
to the nation as such, and a most envenomed hatred to 
certain men, parties, and principles in America, the wit- 
ness has exhibited such a wounded feeling of vanity from 
his want of success in America; such a glorying of his 
friends, and that just in proportion to their subserviency 
to him, and such a conteinpiuous and unmerited deprecia- 
tion of his opponents, as shoidd put every man who reads 
or hears his proofs at once on his guard. As to the opin- 
ions and conclusions of such a person, even from admitted 
facts, they are of course worthless , and his inferences 
from hearsay and idle reports — worse than trash. Birt 
what I mean to gay, is, that such a witness considered 
strictly as testifying to what he asserts of Ins own knowl- 



60 



Fifth Night— Friday— Mr. 



Breckinridge. 



''p(l!;n, is fo he liemil liy a just man, wilh very jrrnat c:ui- 
'tiiin. For my own part, at the risk of being called again 
lii petiifiifj^er, l>y t!ii« infunner, I am lioiiii'i to say liiat his 
■"conduct inipeacirfs liis erecljliility, fully as innell as it has 
'licforc l)Pen shown to afTccl his coniprtenry ; — and while 
1 have peculiar know U-djje ol' the farts, sufficient lo as- 
Veit that his main accusations are false, I fully helieve 
"■that the case he hail himself made, did of itself justify all 
'pooil men, to draw the same conclusion, merely from gen- 
'<'ral principles. I will vennire to ^o a step lariher, and 
'express the opinion that they who are acipiaiiiled with INlr. 
iTIiompson, as he exliih is himself in the pulilic eye, and 
who have a knowiedixe of the past success, winch really did, 
or which he ailnws himself to helieve did attend liis ciTorls 
in West India l^mancipation, (a success, however , which 
I do not comprehend, as the case was settled ti^ainxt him 
and his party, on the two chief poin's on which they 
slaked tiiemselves, namely, immediate abolition and no 
Compensation ;) they who call to mind the preparation 
and pretension, with which he set out for America, ttie 
ci<;ai)ti(; work Iv: had carve-. 1 fir hiinsidf there, the signal 
defrjat he met wilh, and the terror in which he fled tlie 
■country; may find enniigh to justify the fear, that ihe'fate 
of George Tiiompsoii has fully as large a share in his rec- 
ollei'tioiis of America, as the fate of the poor slave. In 
the second place, I charge upon Mr 'riiompson that those 
parts of his slatements which might possibly he in part 
true, are so put as to create false impressions, ami have 
iienrlv the same effect, as if ihey were wholly false, on tlic 
minds of those who read or hear them. This resiil's from 
the Constant manner of staling what might possibly l>e 
true, and it is not only calculated to produce a filsc iin- 
preosion, and make the casual reader believe in a result 
.different from what would be presented if .Mr. Thmnpsoii 
Avere on oaih, atid forced to tell the whole truth, bul the 
■uniformity and dexterity with whi<di this is done, leaves us 
astonishe<l how it could be accidental, lie [Mr. 15 ] as- 
.sumed that all of them had read and \vould read Mr. 
■Thompson's charges. After doing so they would the bet- 
ter apprehend what was now meant; but, in the mean- 
iliine, he wouKl ilhistrase it by a case or two. Thus when 
Mr. T. sp(d<e of the .Ministers in the United Slates being 
slaveholilers, he did it in suc!i a way as to lead the reader 
■to believe that this wus a general tiling, that the most of 
■them, if not the whole of iliem, were sla\e owners. He 
did not tell them that none of the ministers in 12 whide 
States were or could not easily be slaveholders, seeing 
•they were not inhabitants of a slave state ; he did not tell 
■them that the ca.ses of ministers owning slaves were rare 
•even in some of the slave states; and a fair sain|<«li- of the 
majority in not a single state of the I'nion; he left the 
■c.har"c indefinite, and did not conelescend to tell whether 
the number of ministers so accused was one half, or one 
third, or one fourth, or one lumdre.dllt part of the wlnde 
number in the Ignited Slates. He left it wlxdly indefinite, 
on the broad charge that American ministers were slave- 
holding ministers; knowing — perhaps intending, that the 
impression taken up should be, of the aggregate mass of 
American Ministers; when he knew himself nil the while 
that the overwhilmiiig mass of .American miiii.~ters had 
never owned a slave; and that those who had, were ex- 
ceptions from the general rule rather than samples of the 
■whole. It may well be asked how much less sinful it was 
to rob men of their good name, than of their freedom 1 
Not content with even this injustice, ^Ir. Thompson has 
gone so far as to charge the ministers of America, with 
dealing in slaves: — slave driving ministers and slave 
dealing ministers, were amongst his common accusa- 
tions. Now, said Mr. H. he would lay a strong constraint 
upon himself, and reply to these statements as if they 
were not i\t once atrocious and insupportable. The terms 
nsed by Mr. Thompson, were universally understood in the 
United States, to mean the carrying on of a regidnr 
<raflfii in glaveg as u business. The meuning was the 



same here — and ev«»ry one who had heard or read one of 
his printed speeches — was ex vi termiiiis nbligedto under- 
stand this <harge like the preceding, as expressing his tes- 
timony as to the conduct of American ministers geneially, 
if not universally. Nuw I will admit thai there may be in 
America, one minisler in 1,000 or perhaps 500, who may 
at some period of his niiui.-try when he had not sulVieienl 
light on the subject, have bought or sokl friaves a single 
time, or perhaps twice, or possibly ttirice. JJnt I snlenin- 
Iv declare I never knew, nor heard of, nor do 1 believe 
there exists in all America, one such niinisirr, as is above 
descrilied — nor any sect thai would li.dd fellowship with 
him. He would throw under the third gtnerat (had 
charges (if a difiereiit kind from the prect'diiig. Mr. 
'J'hunipson, when generalities fail, takes up some extreme 
case, which might pr'd)ably be loimded on truth, and gives 
it as a spec men of the general practice; thereby creating 
by false instances, as well as by iiidelinitu accusations, au 
imfiression whi(li he knows lo beenliiely fon-ign Inun the 
truth. If he (.Mr. n J were to tell in America that on 
his way to this meeting to-niglit he saw two blind men 
begging in the streets w itll their arms locked lo suppm t 
llieir tottering steps — while the crowd pas.-^ed iheiu idly 
by; and if he ga\e this as a specimen of the maiiiier in 
which the unfortunate poor were treated in t<coiland, he 
would not give a worse impression, nor make a more un- 
fair statement of the fact, that Mr. Thompson had done, 
nearly without exception, in his btalemiiits <pf America. 
Such a .spirit and praclicc as this pervaded tlie whole of 
Mr. TliomiMon's hpeeche.'!. lie would select a few in- 
stances to enforce his meaning. There was a single 
l*resb\terian ("hurch al Nashville, Tennessee. Now he 
(.Mr. h ) happened, in the providence of (iod, to be 
somewhat acijuiintcd with the past hi.slory of that church ; 
ami was happy tu call its present benevolent minister his 
friend. He could coHse<|uently speak of it from his own 
knowlclge. Mr. Thom|ison said thai a young man weiil 
to .\ash\illc, who, eitWr tltrough his own imprudence, or 
the violence of the disjointed times, was arret-lcd, tried 
by a popular committee, found guilty of spiea'ling sedi- 
tions papers, and seiileuced to be whipped; that he had 
receiv<d twenlv la.-hes, and was then discharged. 'I'hiH 
he l)elieved to i)C substantially true, and well remembered 
hearing of the occurrence; and taking the ymiiig man's 
aceoimt of it as true, he had been greatly shocked at il, 
and had now no idea of defending il. l>u'l in .Mr.Thomp- 
soii's statcio.-nt of the case, there was a minute misrepie- 
sentalion, whiih t-howcd singidar indiffereni-c to facts. 
Mr. T. saiil the young man went lo 'I'enncssee to sell cot- 
tage bibles, in which business he .succeeded well, for the 
reiison, adds the narrator, that bibles were scarce in the 
south; although he could not fail to know, ihat Udoic the 
"period in (|uesli"ai, every family in all tho.-e stales that 
would receive a bible, had been furnished w ilh one by the 
various bible .s(.cieties. This, however, was not the main 
reason for a reference lo this case; bul vvas ii.ci)iion<d 
incidentally, to show the nature of ilie feelings and accu- 
sations indulged in by this gentleman. His accomir went 
on to say, sometimes that there were 7, smnetinies 11 el- 
ders of this Presbyterian Church. It was not intended lo 
lav any stress on this discrepancy; as the fault mijjht be 
the reporter's. But seven, or eleven; it was again and 
again charged, that all of them, every one, was present, 
trying, and consenting to the punishment of the unhappy 
young man, ' plowing up his bark,' and niin;;!ing, pcrliai s 
in ihe mob who cmsed him, even f.r his pravers. lo 
make the case inexpressibly horrible, il is added, that 
these seven or eleven elders', had, as to purl of them, dis- 
tributed the sacramental elements, to the aboliiioni.-t, tlie 
very Sabbath before, the day on which the tevcn elders 
participated in this outrage. Now I say first, that d tins 
story were literally true, no man knows better than Mr. 
Tho"inp.«on, that no falsehood could be more glaring than 
to say or insinuate, that the cas« would be a luir Rvcragj 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Breelcinridge. 



61 



gpefimen of w'lat the leaiiiiig men in llis American rlnirch- 
Ci generallv nii;;!u be expt'Cleil to do, in like circiinistaii- 
ces. Vel "for tliis pnrpor-r-, lie lias ippcuKvily iislmI it! 
No man coiiiil know better than he, that if ihc casn were 
true in all \u parts, it v.oiill evtMVwhere he acCDiinled a 
violent and tiiiprciu-duatod thin:j, which oould ha|;p(.'n at 
ill! only in most extraordinary circinn.-'lances. Yet he has 
sositaled it, over ami over, as to force the impression thai 
it is a fair sample of American Christianity. Bat, said 
Mr. 15., I call in (inesli'>n all parts of the story, tliat im- 
plicate at\y christian. 1 do not hcdieve the statements. 
Let me have proof, i do not believe there were either 
seven or eleven elders in the clunxh in qnestion. Record 
their names. If there were so many, it is ne\t to impos- 
sihle, that everv or.e of them, was on the comparatively 
small c-ommittee that tried the abolitionist. Produce the 
proofs; and 1 beJieve it will turn out, that if either of 
tliein was present — it v.as to mitigate popnlar violence; 
and that Ins inihwnc.e perhap*, saved the life of him he is 
traduced for having oppressed, lie did noc mean to stake 
llis assertion against proof; Init fmrn his e::|ierience and 
general knowledge of the parties, he had no hesitation in 
givinjj it as his opinion, that the facts, when known, 
would not justify the assertions of Mr. 'I'homppon, — even 
as lo the |)arti(Hilar case; and believing this, 1 again chal- 
lenge the production of his authority, lint, if it be true 
in all its parts, 1 repeat — it i;i every thing but truth, to 
say that it afiords a just specimen of the elders of 
the Prfsbytenan Churches of America. Another 
case resembling the preceding in its principle, is f)iind 
in what Mr. Thompson has said of the Bapiists (d' tlie 
southern states. There are, says he, above 157,000 mem- 
bers in upwards of 3,0<)0 Baptist Churches, in those 
states ' almost all, both ministers and members, being 
slavehcdders.' Allowing this statement to be true, and 
that each slavehcdJer has 10 slaves on an average, which 
is too small for the truth, there would be an amount of 
slaves equal to 1,570,00 J owned by the Baptists of the 
Southern States. If this be true, and the census of 1830 
true also, there were only left about 500,000 slaves to di- 
vide amongst all the other churches ; leaving for the re- 
mainder of the people, none at all ! Soihat afterall this, 
though churches be bad, the nation is clean enough. Let 
us now make some allowance for this gentleman's extrav- 
agance, especially as he did think he was speaking tinier 
Correction — and divide his 157,000 Bajitists into 52,000 
families, of three professors of religion each. This is 
more than the average for each family, especially in a 
church admitting only adults; and the true nmidier of 
families, for that nninber of professors, would be nearer 
one hundred than (ifiy thousand. Twenty slaves to the 
family is Ixdow the average id" the slave owning families 
of the south — so that at the lowest rate, the Baptists in a 
few slates, according to this person, own 1,040,000 slaves 
at the least, or above half the number that our last census 
gives to the whole union. The extraordinary lolly of such 
sentiments would appear more clearly to the riiidience 
when they understood — that as large a proportion of all 
the blacks as of ;dl the wliites in America are professors 
of religion ; — that above half of all slaves wdio jind'ess re- 
li',fion are Baptists; and that therefore, if !her<! are 157,- 
■000 Baptists in the s.'Uthern slates, instead of being ' al- 
most all slaveholders ' — at least a third of them are them- 
selves slaves. He gave these instances to show that Mr. 
Thompson had taken extreme cases ctmtaining some show 
of trrith as specimens of the whole of America, anil had 
thereby produced totally false impressions. What truth 
there was in them, was so terrifically exaggerated that no 
dependence whatever could be placed upon any of his tes- 
timony. And this vs'ould be still more manifi-st after ex- 
amining the charge brought by Mr. Thompson, that the 
very churches in America own slaves; and several of his 
speeches contain a pretty little dialogue with some slaves 
in the fields, the whole interest of which turns on their 



calling themselves ' the Chwck^s Slaves,' This was 
spoken of as it were in accordance with the tisurd courn; 
of things in the United Siates. Indeed, Mr. Thompson 
had not only spoken with his usual violence and generality 
of the ' slavehidding clinrches of America' — anci declared 
his conviction that ' all the guilt of the system ' should Le 
l.iid ' on (he church of America; ' but at the very latest 
joint exlii!)Jtion of himself and his friend Moses Roper, in 
London, it was stated by the latter in one of his usual In- 
tel hides lo Mr. Thompson, jierhaps in his presence, cer- 
tainly iinc(mtradi(ted, that slaveholding was imivcrsally 
practiscil !)y ' all i hrlstiau societies^ in America — the so- 
cieties of Friends only excefjted. It may excite a blush 
in America, to know that the poor negro's silly falsehood 
was receiv(nl with cheers by the London audience. What 
then should the similar declarations of !Mr. Thompson, 
madtj ilelibciatelv and repeatedly, anri with infinite pre- 
tence of can.kjr and afiecti<m, what feelings can tiiev ex- 
cite; and how will that insulted people regard the easy 
credulity which has led the christi;uis of Britain to be- 
lieve and reiterate charges, in which it is not easy to tell 
whether ilR'ie is less truth or inore malignity 1 For how 
stood the facts 1 What church owns slaves! What 
christian corporation is a propri'Rlor of men ! Out of our 
ten thousand churches perhaps half are involved in this 
sin ] Perhaps a tenth part 1 Surely one Presbytery :\t 
least 1 I\o, — this mountain of fiction has but a grain <;f 
truth to support its vast and hateful proportiims. If there 
be above five congregations in all America that own slaves, 
I never heard of them. The ac'.ual number of whose ex- 
istence I ever hetird is, I believe, precisely three ! They 
are all Presbvierian congregations, anil churches situated 
in the southern part of Virginia; and got into their pres- 
ent unhappy (rondition in the following manner : — Many 
years ago, during those times of ignorance at which God 
winked — when such a man as John A'cwton could go on .i 
slaving voyage to .'\frica, and write bark that he never 
had eiij )ved sw'eeter communion with God that on that 
voyage ;* during such a period as that a few well meaninfr 
individuals had bequeathed a small number of slaves fir the 
support of the gospel, in three or four churches. These 
imfirtunate legacies liad increased and multiplied them- 
selves to a great extent, and under present circumstances, 
to a most inconvenient decree. A fiict which puts the 
clearest contradiction on that assertion of this "accuserof 
the brethren ' — representing their conrlition as being one 
of unusual privati(;n and suffering. Of late years these 
cases had attracted attention, and given great imeashiess 
lo some of the persons <-onnected with these churcheg. I 
have on this platform kindly furnished me, like most o^ 
the other documents I have, since this debate was public- 
ly known — H volume of letters written to one of the.so 
churches on the w hole case, by the Rev. Mr. Paxton, at 
lliit time its pastor. That gentleman is now on this side 
ol the Atlantic, and may perhaps explain what Mr. 
Thompson has so sedulously concealed ; how he was ii 
colonization ist ; — how he mannmittcd, and sent his own 
servanis to Liljeria ; how he labored in this particular 
matter with his <'.hurch, long before the existence of abo- 
litionism ; and how, finding the dilliinilties insaperable, he 
had written tliis kind and moilest volume, worth all the 
abolition frotii ever spued f nth, — and lett the charge it* 
which he f mnd it so dillicult to preserve at once, an hon- " 
est conscience and a healthful inflnenco. It will not, how- 
ever, be understood, that even these few chnrches, are 
worthy of the indiscriniinate abuse lavished on us all for 
their saUes; nor that their present path of duty is either - 
an easy or a plain one. Whether it is that there are ex- 
press sti|5ulations in the original in.<ftruments conveying 
the slaves in trust fir certain purposes; or whether the 
general principle of law, which would transfer to ihs 
slate, or to the Ucir of the first owner, the slaves with 
their increase, — upon a fiilure of the int«niion of the do- 
nor, either by act of God, er of tli« [lartj*^ themselves; 



62 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. BrtcTcinridge.. 



fmbnirngs tlie subject; it ii very certain, that wiser and 
botler men than either Mr. 'I'lioinpsoii or mvself, are con- 
vinced thnt the viiiilied cliiirchcs liave no power wiialevt-r 
io set ilieii- slaves free. If the clnirrhes were to gi\e up 
tbo slaves, it could only have the cllect, it is beiieveii, 
to r.end tiiem into everla.>'iing bondage to the heirs of the 
original pro^irietors. They liaxe, therefore, justly cnnsid- 
«r(Hl it belter for the slave." lhein!?elvf3 that they should 
remain as they were, in a slate of nominal ."crviuide, raih- 
«r than to be remitted into real slavery. Such was the 
real state of the few ca.«eti which have fir.<t been exhibited 
us the sin, if not the actual condition of the .American 
rluirches; and tlien exa;;2(!raled into the inmost turpitude, 
by hidiii* every niiligiiing rircumi<lan(f, adilin;; some 
purely new, and di.stoiting all things. Whether right or 
wrong, the same gtate of tilings exists amongst the Socie- 
ty of Triendi in iXcjrth Carohiia, to a particular extent, 
iind in another form. They did not consider theinseUes 
liable to just censure, nlthrjiigh iliey ludd title in and au- 
thority over slaves, as individuals, w hile they gH\c them 
liieir whole earnings, and had rollecied largo sum.s from 
tiieir breihren in England, which were applii-ii to the l)en- 
e(it of these slaves. It is not now f.ir the fii>t time that 
charges have been made against the chur( h of (iud — that 
Ju<lah is like all the heailicn. l!ut all who embark in 
mich courses — have met wiih the common 1 iic of the re- 
vilers of G(jd's people; and they, with such as select to 
fland in their hit — may find in the word of life, n worsr 
end apjiortioned for llieni, liiaii even for lliokc thev de- 
nounce, in case c\ery word they litter had been true' We 
bless (iod that no weapon loiiiu'd against Zu.n can pros- 
per. There was one other in.-tance wliii h he had noted 
under this head, lis requiring some comment, which eciild 
not liear omission, reganling the private members of the 
chrialian churches in the I'nited Slates, of whom a casunl 
hearer or reader of Mr. 'I'hompson's spi-eches, would be- 
lieve ihat far the greater part ni-lnally owncti slaves; that 
very few, and they almost exclu.<ively abolitionists, consider- 
ed slavery at all wrong; that with one arcord tlicv de- 
prived ihe .".laM's of all religions pri\ ileges, and used lliein, 
not only as a chattd, but ns iioiliing else than a clialcl. 
According to our last census, tlieie were aboiii 11,000,000 
of whiles, 2,000.000 of slaves, aii.l .100,000 lice blai ks 
in America, making a total of nearly thirteen and a half 
millions. All the ^lavl•s were gathered into the 12 most 
Souiherly slates, liee blacks were not far liom half in the 
free and hall in the slave states, and of tiic whites, over 
7,C<00,000 were in the lice an.l less than 3,000,000 in the 
slave stales. The best information 1 po.-siss on this siib- 
C ject, authorizes me to say — about one person in nine, 
thruiigiioiil l!ie nation, black and while, is a ineml>er of a 
chi islian church, the proportion being somcwhal larger to 
llie North, and comparatively smaller at the South. 
There are, therefore, above 1,100,000 white Christians in 
the United States, of which about 8,000,000 live in the 
12 fice slates, and neither own sla\es nor tliink slavery 
right; leaving rather over ?30,Oi30 for the 12 slave stales. 
Now, if these uiiite christians in the slave si.iies own nil 
the slaves, and the other eight-ninths of the whites owned 
none at all, there will be only about six slaves to each 
Christian there, a number far lielow the average of ihe 
slavi'liidders — and all the .North ami all the Soiiih except 
Christians — free of charge and guilt in the specilie thing. 
But if w'c divide these Christians into lamilies, and sup- 
pose there niayii«as many as one in thne or four of them, 
who is ahead of a faniilj, say 100,000 of them — and that 
they own ail tiie slaves; in that case, there would be an 
average of 20 slaves to every while head of u christian 
family ill the slave states ; — but here again ali the slaves 
would be absorbed — ail the .\ortll innocent, above two- 
thirds <»f ihe Christians at the South proved to be not 
fri ;vehidders at all — and all the fdlowers of llie devil 
w liollv luauce.it of that crime ! Tl:e.-^e calcidalions deiii- 
oudtrate that ibe^e accusations are ass grouiulless and ab- 



surd ns any of the preceding. And while it is painfully true, 
ihat in the sUveholding stales far too many Christi.'ins do 
still own slave.-"; — it is e(|ually true, that thev beHr a 
small proportion to those who own none, even in those 
stales. If we siippo.'e the Cliiisiians in Ami-riia lo bi- 
about on an c(|i;al looting as to wealth with oilu-r pei^ple 
— and to have no more conscience about slavery, ihan 
those around them in the slave stales — and that 20 slaves 
may be taken as the average, lo each master — and u ninth 
of llic people pioin, as slated before, it follows that (onlv 
about 11,000 priifessors of religion can be slaveholders — 
or about one in every hundred of the whole number in the 
nation. Yet every one of the abo\e suppositions is 
n<;ainst the churches; yet upon this basis rests the charge* 
ol .1 canilid, alTectiunate, christian brother against them 
all ! The only remaining illiislratioii \i{ Air. Thompson's 
proncness to represent a little truth, in such n way as to 
have all the eliects on an immense miMeprcscniatimi, — 
regards his own posture, doings, and siin'erings in Ameri- 
<a. ' l-'ouitien months of toil, of peril, and persecution, 
almost unpaialled ' — ' there weie paid nivrmidoms seeking 
my blood ' — ' there were thousands wailing to rrjoire nvii- 
Miy deslriiclion' — 'when nny individual u!U Croige 
Thompson who has put his life into his hands, and gonn 
where sl.iveiy is rife; when I.fJeorge 'i'hompson, am told 
I am to be spared,' &c. Similar statenii-nt.- — ad iiifiiiituni 
— fill up all his speeehes; and are noticed now, not foriha 
purpose of coniuu'ntiii;> on, or even contradicting them, 
but (if afl'ording my coiintrynien, who may chanca to sco 
the report of this discussion — specimens as our ceiiiti- 
cates often run, * of the iiiodesly, piobitv, and good de- 
meanor ' — of the individual. He would pass next to a 
fourth general objection against Mr. Thompson's testi- 
mony, as regards Anurica, which was that much of it was 
in tlie strictest sense, positively untrue. For instance, 
Mr. 'I'liomp.-on had twice put a ruiinaway slave forward 
upon the plaiform at London — or at least connived at the 
doing of il — who stated of liis own knowledge, that a .Mr. 
(larrison of South Cartdiiia had |>iiid ')00 dollars lor a 
slave, that he might burn him, and that he had done so 
wiilioul himlraiice or ch.'illenge al'teivvards. This state- 
ment .Mr. T, has never as vet contradicted in anv one ol 
bis numerous speeches, although he must have known it to 
l>e untrue. 1 have mvself several limes directed his atten- 
tion to the subject, and vet llie only anjwer is ' expres- 
sive silence' 'J'lien, I distinctly challenge his notice of 
the case; and while I Kidemiily declare, thai, according 
lo my belief, win ever slioidd do such an act in any part 
of America, would be hung: I as distinctly charge Air. 
Thompson with jjiving countenance to, and deriving coun- 
tenance from this w ilful mis-staiement. As anotlicr in- 
stance of the same kind, yon are told that a liee man was 
sold from the jail at Wasliinst'-n city, as a slave, without 
even the fnriii of a trial; which is farther aggravated by 
the assertion, that this is vouched as a ficl, on llie testi- 
mony of 1000 sisnatiires. This mailer, when .Mr. 
'i'hompson's own proof is produced, resolves itself into 
this : that Mr. Thompsjn said, there had licen a thousand 
signatures to a certain paper, which saiil, that a certain 
man taken up as a runaway slave, said he was free ! If 
he was a slave, the whole case falls; whether he was a 
slave or not, was a fact that could have been judicially in- 
vestigated and decided, il the person most interesteil or 
any other had cho.=en to demand it. So that, in point of 
(act, Mr. Thompson's whole statements, tuuching this oft- 
repeaied case, are all purely gialiiitous'. And with what 
horror must every good man hear that Air. Thompson, 
within the last two or three weeks, told a crowd of peo- 
ple in Air. Price's Chapel, I)e\onshire Square, London, 
in allusion to this very case, that the poor black had ' dcm- 
onxiruled his freedom,' and afterwards been ' sold into 
evei lasting bondage ! ' Vet upon this tiction he bases one 
of his most effective ' illuslratinns of American slavery,' 
and some of his fiercest denunciatiunj of the Aineri'.'Biu 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Breclcinridge. 



C3 



people. Oh, shame, where is thy bliisli ! He could, if 
time permitted, exliihit oilier cases — in principle— ^per- 
haps worse even than these; in which neither the llil.se 
assertions of Moses Kopor — nor the pretended evidence 
of misrepresented petitions existed to make a show of 
evidence; and which notiiiiig imt the most extraordinarj- 
ignorance, or recklessness could explain. Such are the 
assertions made hy himself or his coadjutors in his pres- 
ence, that slaves are brought to the District td' Cohimhia 
from all the slave states for sale, that (ive years is the 
avarage number, that sla\es carried to the Southern 
states live ; that slaves, without trial, or even examina- 
tion, were often executed, liy tens, twenties, and even 
thirties; that the banner of the United States whiih 
lioated over a slave-dealing congress, in the midst of the 
elave market of the entire nation, had the word ' liberty' 
upon it 1 (which single sentence contained three mis- 
BtHtenientS)) that religious iTien weiglied children in 
scales, and sold them by the pounil like mi-at ; that 
there were 2,000,000 of'slaves in America who ne\er 
heard the name of Christ; that no white man woidd 
ever be respected after he had been seen to shake hands 
with a man of color ; all which unnamnable assertions 
are contained, along with more than doiilile as many 
others like ihein, in one single newspaper, (the London 
Patriot of June 1,1835;) and in a portion of the re- 
port of only two of Mr. Thompson's meetings! Alas! 
ior poor human nature ! Having now gone through all 
that his tiirre peritiitled him to say of the proof against 
America, he would lay before them some counter 
testimony upon several parts of this great subject. He 
liad at one time greatly feared that lie might be obliged 
to ask them to believe his mere word, perhaps in the face 
of other proof; but tiirough the providence of (lod, he 
had been put in possession of a very limited file of 
American ne'vspapers, from the contents of which 
he thought he should be able to make out as strong 
a case for the truth, as he had proved the case against 
it to be weak and rotten. 'I'liere were so many denomi- 
nations of Christians in America, that he would only tire 
the meeting by enumerating them. They were of cnery 
Yariety of name and opinion. As to many of them he 
knew but little, and (he present nudience jierhaps less. 
The Societies of Friends generally did not tolerate slave- 
holding among their members; neither did the Covenant- 
ers. The Coiigregationalists, or Independents, had not, 
he believed, a doi^en churches in all the slave states, an<i, 
of course, they should be considered as exempt from the 
charge. It was, however, the less necessary to occiijiy 
ourselves in general remarks, inasmuch as Mr. Thompson 
had laid the stress of his accusations on the three great 
denominations nf America. ' He took all the guilt of this 
system, and he laid it where 1 On the Church of Ameri- 
ca. When be said the Church, he did not allutle to any 
particular denomination. He spoke of Baptists, Presby- 
terians, and Methodists, the three great props — the all- 
sustaining pillars of that blood-ceinenied fa'>ric.' Such 
«vere the words of Mr. T., and it would therefore be 
iieeilless to trouble ourselves about the minor, if we could 
settle the major to our satisfaction. As to two of these 
denominations, he should say but little; his chief and nat- 
ural business being to defend that one of which he knew 
most. In regard to the Ba|)tists, he was sorry to be 
obliged to say, that he believed they were the least defen- 
sible of the three denominations, now principally impli- 
cated; indeed that some of their Associations had taken 
ground on the whole case, from which he entirely dissent- 
ted, -^aiid which, he was siu-e, had given great pain to the 
majority of their own brethren. He begged lease to refer 
them to the work of Drs. Cox and Hoby, just through the 
press, in which he presumed, fjr he had not seen it, they 
would find authentic and ample information on this and 
every othwr point relating to that denomination in .\meri- 
c-a. lij rshtioH to ths Methodists, his knowledge was 



both more full and more accurate. Their discipline de- 
nounced Slavery, and prohibited their Members from own- 
ing slaves, and though their discipline itself was not car- 
ried into elTect with rigid exactness, he did not bclieVe 
that there was a Methodist Church in the United Stales, 
or upon the Earth, which owned slaves, as a Church. He 
believed that very fuw Slethodist preachers — imleed, al- 
most none, owned any slaves, and nothing but the most 
direct proof could for a moment make him believe, that 
one of them was a slave-dealer. The whole secrl, or at 
least the great majority of it, might be considered as fair- 
ly represented, in tiie following llestdiitions passed in iho 
Conference, held at Daltimore; and which could be a set 
oir to those read by Mr. Tlioinpson, from one of the north- 
ern Conferences : 

Melhodlsl Resolutions on AhnlUiin. — .At a late meeting 
of lh« Baltimore Aiiiinal Conlereiice of the Melhodisl 
Episcopal Cliurch, held at Mallimore, the lollowing; pre- 
anilde and lesolulions were unanimously niloplcd, and 
the iintnes of all the members and probationers present, 
in iiiiinlier one hundred and fifiy-<even, were subscribed,' 
and oidcred to he published. 'I'lie Secreiarv was also 
(lireried to hirnish Rev. John A. Collins with a co|iy for 
insertion in the GloUe and Inlelltgeiicer of Washington 
city : — 

Whereas great excitemeiil has pervaded ihi.'s country 
for some lime past on the subject of abolition ; and, 
whereas such excitement is believed to be destructive to 
the best interests of the country and religion ; therefore, 

1. Resolved, That ' we are as much as ever convinced 
of the great evil of slavery.' 

2. Thai we are opposed in every part and parlicnlRf 
to the proceedings ot the abolilionisls, which look lo the 
immed'ato, indiscrimiiiale and general emaiicip<ilion of 
slaves. 

3. Thai wR have no connection with any press, by 
whomsoever conducted, in the inierusl of the abolilioa 
cause. 

As to his own connection, the Presbyterian, he would , 
go as fillv as his materials permitted, into the pioof of 
their past principles, and present posture. And, in the first 
place, he was most hirpy '"i 'je able to present them with 
an abstract of the decisions of ihe General Asscmlily of 
the Presbyterian Church in the United Slates of America. 
He ftund it printed in the New York 0!)server of i\Iay 23-, 
ISS.'i, embodied in the proceedings of the Presbytery of 
Montrose, and transcribed by it, no doubt, from the Assem- 
bly's Digest:— 

As early as A. D. 1787, the Synod of New York and « 
Philadelphia issued an opinion adverse to slavery, and 
recommended measures for its final exiiMction ; and iu 
the year' 1795, the Generjl Assembly assured ' all the 
churches under their care, that they viewed with the deep- 
est concern any vestiges of slavery which then existed in 
our country; ' and in the year 1815, the same ju<licatory 
decided, ' that the buying and selling of slaves by way of 
traffic, (meaniii<r, doubtless, the domestic traffic,) is in- 
coiisislcni with ihe spirit of the gospcd.' I>ut, in the year ^ 
1818, a more full and explicit avowal of the sentiments of 
the church was unanimously agreed on in the General 
Assemby. ' We coiisifler,' (says the Assembly,) ihe voi- 
uiitarv enslaving one pari oi' the luiman race by another 
as a gross violation of the most precious and sacred rights 
oi' human nature; as utterly incoiisistenl with the law of ■ 
God, which requires iis lo love our neighbor as ourselves; , 
and as totally irreconcilable with the spirit and princ'iplfn 
of the gospel ofClirist, which enjoin, ' whatsoeverye would 
111. It men should do lo you, do ye even so to them.' They 
add,' it is manifestly "the duty of all (Christians who en- 
joy the light of the present day. when the inconsistency 
of slavery, both with the dictates of humanity and relig- 
ion, has been dcinoastraled, and is generally scon and 
acknowledged t-o use their honest, parnest, and miwenri- 
ed endoavors to corpect ihc errors of lot met times, errd as 



64 



Fifth yigJii — Friday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



speeililv a* possible, to eHV.rp (his blot on our lioly rcli;- 
ioii, HI il Id <)l>l?iii llie roil plele iibniiiioii tif sln\cry 
llironiilioul clirislenduin, :iuiJ it posainlc, llmnigUiut llie 
world.' 

If, ?aiil iMr. B., lie iiad pxprpp^ed spntiments d'/Tficnt 
fioiii tlifsc, or if he ii.iil incid(';\le(!, ms the priiicifjlos of 
his brelliien, aiiv lliing diffpipiit from tlie<o just and nulile 
jicnliiiifiUs, If'l llic l.latiie li? Iicnpoil upon Ins bare head. 
'l'lxr.-(! scnlimr'ii!.s lliey riad lit-lii fioiii ii period to which lliH 
iiiciioiv i>f man ruiim-th not to ibo conlrary. Here, to- 
Bi^lit, SSOO miles off. God enal.lsd him to produce a 
record proving an nntiipvity of iiiiK n ccniurv, in full nia- 
turitv • How i^rand, how far ."^i^^lued, how illustrious in 
truth — ronipared wiih the wretrlied and ncw-l^orn, and 
ljli-ar-ev(-(j fanaticism that Cinps at her ! 'I'hese aie tlie 
piincipk'B of the Presbyterian cluireh of the United 
Slaves. She has risen wiili tliein,she will stand, or, if it 
be God's will, she will fall w illi tlicm. ijut she will not 
eliaiij,'!" lliern less or more. The (ieneraV A.ssembly is but 
now adjoerned. 'I'Imv have had ihis (pieslion belore llieni 
— perhaps have been deeply agitated bv its di.scu.xsion. 
l$ut so tranipidly diies my heart rest on the truth of these 
|)roiciplcs, and on the (ised adherence to them bv my bieili- 
ren, tb.vt noiliiog but a (ecliu^j that il woid.l be impertin- 
ent, in oi-.e like me, to vouch for a body like that, could 
deler me from any lawful gage, that all its decisions will 
stand with il.s ancient and unaltered priwcip^es. In accnr- 
dance will) these principles the great body of the members 
of that cluirih hail been ail alorj; a;riiiii». There were 
about 24 synods under the care of the General Assembly, 
of uhich about one third were in liie nlave comiirv. The 
number was constantly increasing, on which account, and 
in the absence ol all records, lie coiilil not be more exact. 
'I"liii synods in the free slates stood, he believed, without 
exception, iii$t wiieie the .Assemblv stood, on this sabject. 
In the Klave states, much bad been done — much was still 
di>iiig — and in proof o) this, as regarded this p.arlicular 
dcii'imination — in addition to what he bad all along de- 
clr.red, with reference to the great emancipation paitv, in 
Jill iif those stales, he asked atlention to the several docu- 
in('nis he was about to lay before them. 'I'lic first was a 
series of resolutions iippcndcd to a lucid and extended re- 
port, drawn np by a large coinuiiltee of ininister.o and 
elders of ilic synod o( Kentiiclcv — in obedience to its or- 
ders, alter the subject had been several vears be^Jjie th.it 
liody. The syiioj embraces the whole .'tale of Kentucky, 
■which is one of tl;e largest slaxe slates in ihfr Union. 'I'he 
resolutions are (|Uoted from tli« .\cw York Observer of 
Al.ril23, ]S3G. 

1. We would recommend lii.it all slaves now under £0 
years ol aije, mid all llio^se \el to be born in our pos'-'-s- 
sion be emaiKiiinicd, as they severally reach llieir 2olli 
year. 

2. We recommend ihnt deetls of cnKiiieipalion bt» now 
drawn up, au<l recoided in our several ooiiiHv rouils, 
specifying the slaves we are alioul to cniaucij)hte, and 
liie age at wlil(di each is to become free. 

'I'liis measure is hjoiy necessary, ns il will furniili loour 
own minds, to the woibi, aiol lo our slaves, saii^faetorv 
proof ol our sinccrily in this work ; and il will ,-ilso se- 
cure the liberty of the slaves Rgaiiist coiiiiiigeiieies. 

3. We recommend that our sfnves be instructed in the 
common elemenlary branches of education. 

4. Wo recnnimeiid ilial xlrenuoiis and per«everii!{j 
rfl'urls be made to induce llieni to ailend reijularlv iipaii 
tiip ordinary services of religion, both domestic and 
pu.'dic. 

5. We recommend tlinl greet pnin* \tf taken to teach 

: them the ludv scriplnres ; luxl to elTocI this lbi> insiruioen- 
talily of 8id)Hnili schools, whcrevpr tiiev can be enjoved, 
be united with tliat of domestic iiislructiou. 

The i>!an revealed in thpfc rp.«;nr!itic.rt?, was the one of 
all other.*, which most coinmci!.lsd itself to lii« (.Mr B's) 



judgment. And he most particularly nske<l their atlen- 
tion to it, on an account somewhat personal. lie had 
5e\eral times been publicly referred to in this coiiiilrv as 
having sliowii llie sinccr.ty of his princijiles in the manu- 
mission of his own slaves. He was most anxions that no 
error should e\ist on this sn'ject, which he had not at 
any time, haihiny [lart in bringing befoie the public, and 
which, as often only as he was forced to do so, had he ex- 
plaineil. The introdiielory remarks of the Chairman, 
liail I. lid iiiui under the necessity of such an explanation, 
which had not so naturally occurred, as in thiscoiinexion. 
He took lea\e therefore to say, that this I'Centncky plan, 
was in substiNice the one he had bix-n acting on for some 
\ears before il.< existence; and which he should probably 
be among.st the earliest, if his life was spared liillv to 
complete. He considered it substantially the same as 
their system for West India Eniairiipatiim ; only more 
rapid as to adults, more tardy, cautious, and benelicent asi 
to minors; and moie generous, as being wholly without 
compensati.-in. In plans tliat afleei whole nations, and 
successive ^enei-.-xtions, questions of time are of all others, 
least im[irM'tant ; of all others the most proper to make 
ben I to the ire<:essilic* of tl>e rase. He wetit only to n-.xy 
fariher, that his brother, the Rev. Dr. John Ureckrmidge, 
of whom iMr. 'I'liompsoii speaks with such iiiiisctation of 
scorn, had mitered this good lield before hii'.i, and taken 
one Course with his manninittcd slaves. 'I'hat a vminger 
brother, who^e name, along with nine other belo\ed and 
revered nanuM, is allached to this Kentucky report, had 
idsoenicrcd it before him; and taken a second course dif- 
ferent still, in liberating his. \\'hen he came la.-l of all, 
lie l»a i taken still a third, dinereut from eat-h ; while 
other friends had pursued others stili. \\ hat wisdom their 
combineil, and jet varied experience could have afforded, 
was of conr.se u.seless; now that all the deepest questions 
of ,-\bslrurt truth, and tlie most diliictilt of personal prac- 
tice, were solved by instinct, and cariied by storm. 'I'he 
next extract relate, 1 to the great slavelndding slate of 
rslorth Cai'olina, and revealed a plan for the religious iu- 
slruc.tiim and care of the souls of the slaves, intended to 
cover tlie states of Virginia, Ge(ngja, and .Sooth Carolina, 
nil slave states of the first class, as well as the one in 
which it originated. lis origin is due to tlv; Presbj terian 
Synod, co>cring tlie whole of that slate. Tb.c extract is 
from tlw iS'cw York Observer of June 29, 1S35: 

RELIGIOUS I.>STPUCTIl)N OF SLAVES. 
' Tl'.e Sowlhern Lvangelical Society,' is the title of a 
proposed assorintiou, among the Presbyleriaiis ol the 
South, lor the propogation of the gospel among ihe peo- 
ple ol color. Tlie eoiisiiluiiou originated in the .synod of 
IVorili (.'"arolrna, .nnd is to ^o into eliet as soon .is adopt- 
ed ''V the sviiod ot' \'irgiiiia, or tliftt of Sontli Carolina 
and Georgia. The voting nieinbeps of the .socieiy are to 
lie eiri-leo by the synods. Honorary numbers arecreat- 
eil by ihe [laymenl ol 30 dollars. All members of synod.* 
united with ilie .society are corresponding; members — oilic." 
corresporliog members may be clinsen b^ the voliiiif mem- 
bers. Anil h" -Uh of the conslilulion pro\ ides that ' there 
shall not e.\i«t between this society and .nny olher society, 
any connection whatever, except with a simiirir society 
in the slaveholding states.' Several resolutions follow 
the coiistiluiion — one of these provides that a presbytery 
in a slaveholding district of Ihe country, not united with 
n svnnd in connection with ihe society, may lircome a 
member b\ its own act. The 5lit' and 6lh resolutions are 
as follows : — 

Resolved. 5. That il bp very respeririylly an<l earnestly 
recoinmeiKled lo ail the liea<ls of fiimili''s in conix'clion 
with our coiiafreiraiioiis, to lake np and vigorously prose- 
cute the business of seeking the snivntion of llie slave.* 
in the way of in^ititainin!; and promoiin<j famil}' religion. 

Jvcroived, f). That it be enj"ined on all the presbyter- 
ies roniposiiij this synod to take order at their earliest 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



65 



wccliiig: to oljlain full and corrocl statistifa! information 
ns lo llie number of [)co|)le of color, in lliu bounils of our 
several congregations, tlic number in actual aitenilance at 
our several places of worship, and the nunilier <>l colored 
members in our several churches, and make a full report 
to the synod hi its next meeting;, and for ihis purpose, that 
the clerk ol' this synod furnish a copy of this resolution to 
the stated clerk of each presbytery. 

The next document carried them one slate farther 
South, and related to South Carolina, in which that hor- 
rible Ciov. M'Uullie, who seems to haunt .Mr. Thomp- 
son's imaginati(jn with his threatsof death without bene- 
fit of clergy,' lives, anil perhaps still rules. It is taken 
from the same paper as the next preceding extract: — 

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF SLAVES. 

We cheerfully insert the followinj lettter from an in- 
telligent New Englander at tlie Jsouih : — 

To the Editor of the New York Ob.server — 

I am apprehensive that many of your readers, who feel 
a lively inurest in ihe vvellaie of the sl,H\es, are net cor- 
reclly and lully informed as to tlieir amount ol relig^ius 
inslruciion. From the speeches of Mr. 1 honipson and 
others, tliev niiglit be leil lo b(die\e that slaves in our 
Koulhern stales never redd a Ijible. hear a gospel sermon, 
or partake of a gospel ordinance. It is to l>e ljop<^d, hou- 
ever, tiiat little credit will be given H> such misre[)resen- 
talions, notwiltislandiiig the zeal and liulustry vmiIi which 
they are disseminated. 

What has been done on a single plantation. 

I will now inform 3'our readers what has been done, 
and is now doing, lor the moral and religious improve- 
ment of the slaves on a single plaainlion, with which I 
um well a-cqiiainled, and ihese tew (acts may serve as a 
coniiiKMiiaiy on the unsupporied asseriions ol fiJr. 'J'liomj)- 
son and oliiers. And lieie I could wisli that all vvIid are 
so ready to denounce every man that is so uiiforliiiiate as 
to be born lo a heritage of slaves, could go to llint planta- 
tion, and si-e with their own eyes, and hear wiih theii own 
ears, the lliings v\liich I despair of adequately describ- 
ing. 'J'ruly. I lliink they would be more inclined, and 
better qualified to use those weapons of light and love 
uliicli liave been so aldy and justly commended to their 
hands. 

On this plantation there are from 1.50 to 200 slaves, the 
finest looking body that I have seen on any eslaii;. "J'lieir 
masier and mistress have felt (or years how solemn are 
the responsibilities connected with such a charge; and 
they have not shrunk Irom wieeting ihcm. 'J'lie means 
tised lor their spiritual good, are abnndaitt. They enjoy 
the coiistajit preachnig of Ihe gospel. A young miiiisl<;r 
ol the Fieshyterian diurch, who has received a regular 
collegiate and theological educaiion, is laboring among 
lliein, and derives his entire support Irom tne maste.-, with 
the exception of a trifling sum which he receives for 
preaching one 6>ab|iath in each monih, for a neighboring 
church. On the Sabbath and during Ihe week you may 
see them filling ihe ))laceof worship, from the man of grey 
liairs to the small child, all neally and comlorlably 
clothed, listening with respectful, and in man^- cases, 
eager attention to the truth as it is in Jesus, deliveied in 
lei Ills adapti'il to their capacilies, and in a manner suited 
to their peculiar habits, feelings and circumstances ; — en- 
gaging with solemnity and propriety in the solemn exer- 
cise of prayer, and mingling their melodiijus voices in 
the hymn ol praise. Sitttiig among them are the while 
niemUers of the lamily encouraging them by their ailcnd- 
ance, mani-fesiing their interest in the e.\ercises, and their 
anxiety for the eternal well being of iheir people. Of the 
whole number 46, or 50 have made a profession of relig- 
ion, and others are evidently deeply concerned. 

Let mc now conduct you to a Bibie class of 10 or 12 
adultji who can read, met with their Bibles to study and 
have explaiflcd to them the word of God. They give 

9 



unequivocal d.einonslratioiis of much interest in their em- 
ployment, and (d an earnest dusire lo uiidersland and lo- 
inembei wliat they read. From hence wc will ^o to 
anellier room wln^re are assenibi(<i 18 or 20 lads attend- 
ing upon cniechetical instruction conducted by iheir ) oung 
master. Here you will nolice many intelligent counten- 
ances, and will he struck with the promptitude and cor- 
rectness of their answers. 

But the most intercsling spectacle is yet hefwrc you. 
It is to be wilnessed in the Infant School Room, nicely 
filled up and supplied with the customary cards and oilier 
appurtenances. Here, evcr3' day in the week, you may 
find 23 or 30 children neatly clad and wearing bright and 
happy (aces. And as ymi notice their correct deporl- 
nicnt, hear their unhesitating replies to the questions pro- 
posed, and above all, when they unite their swtel voices 
III iheir loechiiig songs, if your heart is not aflecled and 
your eyes do not fiil, you are the haidesi-hearted and 
elnest-e^ed visitor-thai has ever been there. But who is 
their teacher ? 'J'heir mistress, a lady whose amiable 
christian character and most gilted and accomplished 
mind and manners are surpassed by none. From day to 
day — inonlli lo monlh, and year lo year she has cheerful- 
ly left hiT splriidid lulls and circle ui frifnds to visit her 
scliDol room, where, standing up belbre those 3<>ung im- 
mortals she trains them in the way in which ihey siiould 
go, and leads ihein lollimuho said, ' sufier little chil- 
drin lo (onie nnlo me.' 

From the Infant School Room we will walk through a 
beautiful lawn half a mile, to a pleasant grove command- 
ing a view of miles in extent. Here is a brick chapel 
rising for Ihe accominodalioii of this interesting family 
— sulficienlly large to receive 2 or 300 hearers. When 
completed, in beauty and convenience it will be surpass- 
ed by few churches in the Southern country'. 

On the plantation y«u might see also many other things 
of great interest. Here a nrgro is the overseer. Mar- 
riages are regularly contracted. No negro is sold, ex- 
cept as a punishment for bad behavior, and a dreadeii 
one it is. None is bought save lor the purpose of uiiiiing 
families. Here you will hear no clanking of ch.'iins. no 
cracking of whips; (1 have ne\er seeii a blow slruck on 
the estate.) and here last, but not least, you will find a 
flourishing I'emperanre Societ)" embracing al . ost ever)' 
individual on the piemises. And yet Ihe ' Christianity of 
the South is a rhain-forsing, a whip-platting — mairiage- 
rliscouraging. l>ib|e-wilh!iiilding Christianity I ' 

1 hi'.v;- conlinerl ni3'self to a single plantation. I'ul I 
might add many most iniervsliiig facts in regard lo others 
and the stale of feeling in general, but I forbear. 

Yours, &c. A NEW ENGLAND fllAN. 

He woiild now connect lite peculiar and local facts of 
the preceding statement, with the w'nole community of 
sluvehnlders in the same state; and show by competent 
and disinterested tt^limony the real and common stale of 
things. 'J'Ik! following extracts were from a letter print- 
ed in the New York Observer of July 2.5, 1835 : — 

I have resided eight years in South Carolina and have 
an extensive acquaintance with the planters of the middle 
and low country. I have seen much of slaver}', and feel 
compeient to sj^eak in regard lo man)' facts connected 
with it. 

Wliai your correspondent has staled of the condition of 
one plantation, is, in its essential points, a common case 
througlioul ilie whole circle of my actjiiaintance. 

Tlie negroes generally in this stale are well fed, well 
clothed, and have the means of religious inslruciion. Ac- 
cording to my best judgment, the v^ork which a slave 
here is rcquireii to do, amounts lo about one ihird the or- 
dinary labor commonly performed by a New c^ngliind 
farmer. A similar comparison would hold true in regard 
to the labor of domestics. In the family where I reside, 
consisting of nine white persons, seven slaves are em- 
ployed to do ike work. This is a common case. 

In the village where I live there are about 400 slaves, 
■and they generally alHtnd church. IMore than one h«»- 



G6 



Fifih yight — Friday — jlr. Breckinridge. 



cred e:' irem are ffiemSers •:" tse chare'a. Pernaps £>j 
»:e ajJesi:.^:; (sverv Sabt>2tQ in ibe Jjanday Scboci. la 
rav o*_ Sjciav Scaooi are i^toui C-j. a^d mo^i ot icem 
{«rDte»«irj •{'(e.i^oo. Ta€y ari? perticUy accessune and 
teaeoaate. la loe lows o:' my icroer re<ide;.ce in Mevr 
KagUiKl, Lbere <rere 300 ire« o^ac&s. Mo more ibau 3 ar 
' 10 oi tOoi* »ere prolcuors o: re.i°:oa. aac ihji more toan 
l»iee litai oomDer cou.a geaera-Iy je ;a3uced lo ai;ead 
chorea. Tney coa.si uc: r-e uauccc [osend ibeit cbiidr»a 
t« i^ disir.ci >ciK>o.«. wa.co were a.»a_vs open lo ibem, 
■or eooW a>ey geaera .y c-e c.rea lo work. Taey »ere 
ikievuii, mtei:brt^i aui ircuDles^^oie. i bate no besiiaiioa 
H sajiBg. aad 1 sa\ ii ce..r<:rcLi«rl_* . it woo'd i'e 2 r^at 
biesamg to lAea loexcnaoge c<.:ic::.p - 
Ike villa*e ia vbick I bow l.ve. 1 

Morai ctui'dctei's, and real meaiii of . . ^ _i 

be prooMHed tij ibe excnange. • 

Tbcre are doubiie&s some masters wito treat their slares 
eroctij IB tbts State, but tiiey are excepiioas to tbe geoe- 
raJ tact. Public optnioa is la a wboicsome siaip aod iJik 
nan *Ik> does aut treat his slaves ki.^dty. is dii«raeed. 

Great and kocreasio' efiuitj are made to iusimct tbe 
f^avei lardigioa, aod c^vate their ciiaraciers. Missioa- 
ar.«i are eapl^ped soteljr for ttkcir beiie^u 1: is rerjr 
coa»o« for oiinisters to preach in tW foreiiooa to tbe 
wkites, and in tbe afternoon of erery ^sb^s'h !-:> rhe 
blacks. Tbe slates of my acqua'miauce - . 
coaicaled and bappy. T;.e mii^ter is re 
will di rid* la« dies. Maay lbou.«aads of - 
^tate giTe eridence of pietj. In mauy cuarcces loey 
form tbe majority. Tbau>an>ls of ibesn ^iveuaiit ibanks 
to God tbai tbe; or tbeir fatbers were brou^h: to tins laud 
•f iiaTery. 

A ad aaw, perhaps, I oogfat lo add, that I ^m act aslare- 
P kolder, and do not inieod to coDi>aae in a sla vs couairy j 
!|- Iwi wbesever I may be. I iuiend to speak ti.e 

TRUTH. 

Tbe mat d ucn iD ea t relaleJ partkclarlr to Virgixia, — 
loe largest aad nost powerin I of ibe slare states ; bat bad 
aiso a geaeral refeteoce to tbe whole soatb, aixl to tbe 
vfaole fmeaaom at ksoe. The sentiments it coatzined 
were earitled lo extraordinary coosideratioo, on account 
of tbe Mnne of tbea. Mr. Van Reaseiear, vas tbe son 
ef ooe of the most wealthy aod distinguifbed citizetis of 
tbe great free state o( >ew York. He iml gaoe to Vir- 
ginia to preach to the slares. He had etery where suc- 
ceeded ; was every where beloTed by the slares, aud boo- 
ered by Uieir masters. He bad access to perbaps furty 
difiereu plantatioas, — on which he bwa time to time 
preached^— aad which might hare been duokled, had his 
ftreagth bee* equal to tbe task. In the mi.lst of his oae- 
faloeai — the storm of abobtioo aroee. Mr. Tborop^i.-n,'' 
like name baseliil star landed oa oar shores ; orza-i :zed a 
reckleas ^latMMi, made many at the aorui frantic nritii 
kfUy — and as many at the sooth furious with pz^si-ta. 
Hr. Van Keaselear, like onny others, saw a storm ragiog 
which thej had no power to control : aod like tbem w iih- 
drew finoa hia beneroleat btburs. Tbe fuilowing brief 
Etatements made by him at a great meeting of the Cobni- 
zatio* Socie^ of Se\tf York, exhibit his own riew of the 
eoadnct and doty of tbe parties. 

Tbe Rer. Cot tiandt Van Renselear, formerly of Alba- 
ny, bat wbo has taieiy resided in Vir^uia, aitdressed tae 
Bueetinf, and after ailudiu; to tbe ai^reace ef opiuion 
which ifferaiSed amoajr tbe frieads of C»iouiiation, touch- 
ing the present condition and ireAmeat oi the colored 
popolatton in tfab eoaatry, proceeded to offer reasons wbj 
ibe people of tbe ?ioiifa abueld approach their brethren en 
the Suaib, wbo 'keid liie coouol of ibe colored pop&laiioa, 
with deterence, asA in a spint of kiudoess aad concilia- 
tion. 

Tiaese reasons were brieay as follows : 1. Becaoie 
tbe people ot' i&e Suuth tiod ooi cooseoied to the ori^ioal 
latradueiioa of «Ut et i bio ilie couiiiry, but bad soiemuly, 
giXtisiij, add r«;K.s» djy reaiv:;sL:&u.-d agaliu: i:. ~ 



Because, having been born in the presenrc of slarerr, 
cjc arcus^oraea lou from ibeir infancy , ihevcouid not be 
f x;^>ecied lo view ii la ibe same light as wV view ii ai tbe 
r^'urth. 3. Slavery being there eaiablubed by law, it was 
Dot in the power of ibdividuais to act iu regard to it as 
tbeir personal teelings migbt dictate. Tbe evil bad Dot 
been eradicated from ibe state of >ieiir York al! ai ooce : 
it badt>eeaa gradoal process, commencing with tbe law of 
17V9. and not consummated uoti! 1827. Uugbt we to de- 
uousice oar southern neigbbors if tbey relu»ed to do tbe 
work at a blow? 4. Tne constitutioa of tbe United 
Stales toieraied slavery, in its articles apportiooiag rep- 
re^eutaiior. »i'b refereuce to tbe slavs population, and 
requiri:.;; :er of runaway slaves. 5. Slavery 

tac ber. . -.led of late years, and tbe cuodiiton 

of lue -_ _,._... ..on mucb ameliorated, lis former 
rigor was aimosi unkuown, at least in Virginia, aod it 
was l«»^»^n'og- conl'nBa'iy. It was not consistent with 
ir ■ ..es as groaning day and night 

c i, lask-masiers. And as lo t>e- 

i- - ce, Mr. N . bad seldom seen a 

p:.s.uwA..„.i ut^ere sOuie of itae slaves could not read, and 
wliere ihcy were not eocouraged to learn. In Souib Car- 
ol. ua. where It was said tbe gospel wassyslemaiically de- 
nied to ibe slave, ibere were iwcniy liiousaud of tbem 
ch-,::rh-— .rn-= rrj ti tbe lleibodisi deDominatioo aioue. 
J'cb where out of 70 commouicants, 
6. Theie wereveix great difficulties 

- .To.'k of .\bolilion. 'J'he reUlions of 

s.'avery cau ramined tbemselres through ail the relatrans 
of ?^'>r'e!y. The fl^ve* wre comparatively very igno- 
r ' . and ibey were unqualified 

1 • :ier in ^uch a concern as 

v;.. ■ r : o light m.-ner. Mr. V. 

b«:re reiecicvi io lue lestiit oi experience and {>ersonal ob- 
servation on the mind of tbe well known Mr. Parker, laie 
a- -■-- ■- ■. now of »w Orleans. He bad 

ir " >*nb ibe feeliugs of ao ioime- 

c - ii returned with his views 

V _- - a very and slaveholder*, 

a declared tbe idea of ini- 

C'. . ■-. :. ._- ^ ...... - ... lobe a gross absurdity. 

'J'o tiDeraie'ibe two aod a iiatf millions of slaves in tbe 
m:dst of us, wo'j'd f>e j-jst as wise and as humane, as it 
would be for '. fa uuuicrous family of voung 

children to la- e fronl doer, and lbere bidding 

tbem good b;. •• . aey were free, and send ineio 

ont into the wona to provide for aod govern themselves. 
7. Foreign iuierfereuce was, of necessity, a delicate 
tbir.g. aod oorrht ever to be aitempled wiib tbe u'lmost 
C7.0L100. 8. There was a large amount of unfeigned 
Car:stiao anxiety at ihe Soutii lo obey God aud to do 
■^ goo-i lo maa. There weie many tears and prayers con- 
tinua :! V p<iured out over the condiiioa of tbeir colored 
peop.e, aud the most earnest desire lo mitigate their sor- 
rows. Where such persons to be approached with viiu- 
,,.,.:_„ 5_^ P_,,t.„™.,; » Q There was no reason why 
i- - '.o the colored race 

F soainern brethren. 

1 : ^ .. .pr:t. 10. A regard 

lo tue interect of loe^iaves inemseives dictated aeaoiious 
and pradent aad forbearing coarse. It called for concil- 
iaiioEi : for the faie of the slaves depended on tbe will of 
their masters, ncr could lae mr.h prevent if. Tne late 
laws against teaebiog slaves to read bad nci been Dai«e<l 
until the soGthera per^ple fonad inflammatory publications 
circulating aniong tbe colored people. 11. The spirit of 
tlie gispel forbade all violence, abuse and ibreaiening. 
Tbe aposiies had w:.«hed to eali fire from heaven on those 
they cu 35 -c' '■-'='! t5 C^r'si's enemies ; bat tbe Saviour in- 
stead r.:" . ."-'T zeal, had rebuked it. 12. 
Thesf ■ .. o were represented as so jross- 
ly vio £ .. _ - ■ '-",>'; bad been tbe subjects of 
gracious blessings trom God in the outpourings of his 
Spirit.' 13., When God convinced men of error, be did 
it ia ite spint of mercy ; we ought to endeavor lo d» ife« 
»aue thiii^ La the same spirit. 



Fifth Xight — Friday — Mr. Breckinridge. 



61 



The only remaining testimony relates to the states of 
Louisiana and Mississippi, in the soutli west. The letter 
from which it is taken is written by a son of that Mr. 
Finley, who perhaps more than any one else, set on foot 
the original scheme of African colonization; and whose 
Dame, as a man of pure and enlarged benevolence and 
tvisidom, the enemies of his plans quote witli respect. 
The son well deserves to have had sucli a fuller. 

New Orleans, March 12, 1835. 

In mj former letter I gave you some account of the 
leading characters amongst the free people of color who 
recently sailed from this port in the brig ' Rover,' for Li- 
beria. I then promised you in my next to jive you some 
account of the emancipated slaves who sailed iu the same 
expedition. This promise I will noxv rndeavor to ful61, 
and I will hegin with the case of an individual emancipa- 
tion, and then slate the case of an emancipated famdv. 
and conclude with an account of the emaocipation of 
several families by the same individual. 

The first case alluded to is that of a youn'- woman 
emancipated bv the last will and testament of the late 
Judge James Workman, of iliis city, the same who left a 
legacy of 'en thou<<and dollars to the American Coloniza- 
tion Society. Jud^e Workman's will contains the fol- 
lowing clause in relation to her, viz : — ' 1 request my statu 
liber. Kilty, a quarieroon girl. lo be set free as soon as 
convenient. And I request mv e.xecutors may send her, 
as she shall prefer, and they liiink best, cither I'o the Colo- 
nizaiion Society at No; folk, to be sent to Liberia or to 
Hayii ; an"d if she prefer remaining in Louisiana, that they 
may endeavor to have an act passed for her emancipa- 
tion ; if the same cannot be attained ofierwise ; and it is 
my will that the stun of three hundred dollars be paid lo 
her after she shall be capaKle of receiving the same. I 
request my executors to hold in their hands money for this 
purpose. I particularly request mv friend John G. 
Greene lo take charge of litis girl, and do the best for her 
thai he can.' 3Ir. Greene provided her with a handsome 
outfit, carefully attended lo her embarkation, and the 
shipment of her freight, and placed her under the care of 
ihe Rev. Gloster Simpson. 

The next case, alluded to above, is that of a family of 
eleven slaves emancipated for faithful and meritorious 
services, by the will of the late ^Irs. Bullock, of Claiborne 
county. Miss. 3Irs. Moore, the sisler and executrix of 
Mrs. Bullock's estate, gave them 700 dollars lo furnish aa 
outfit and give them a start in ihe colonv. 

The third and last case alluded to above, eonsisled of 
several families, amounting in the whole to 26 individual 
slaves belonging lo the estate of the late James Green, of 
Adams county. Mississippi. The following interesting 
circumstances concernina- their liheration, were commu- 
nicated to me by James Railey. Esq., the brrther-in-!aw 
and aeiin? executor of Mr. Green's estate. Mr. Green 
died on the loth May. 183-2. the proprietor of about 130 
slaves, and left Mr. Railey. his brother-in-law. and his 
sisters. Mrs. Railey and Mrs. Wood, executors of his last 
will and teslamenl. Mr. Green's will provides for ihe un- 

condilional emancipation of but one of bis slaves a 

faithful and intelligent man named Granjer, whom Mr. 
Green had raised and tauihi to read, write, and keep ac- 
counts. He acted as foreman for his master for about 
five years previous to his death. Mr. Green, bv his will, 
left him 3000 dollars on condition that he went to Liberia, 
otherwise. 2000 ricilars. Provision was also jnade in the 
will for securing to him his wile. Granger has been em- 
ployed since the death of Mr. Green, tiniil recen.My. «3 
overseer for 5Ir. Railey. at a salarv of 600 dollars per an- 
num. Granger declines ffoing to Liberia at present ea 
account of the nnwillino-ness of his mother lo ?o there. 
She is very ajed and infirm, and he is verv much allach- 
ed to her. She was a favoriie slave of Mr. Green's moth- 
er, who emaicipated her and left her a legacy of 1000 
dollars. Granger came lo this city with Sir. Railey to 
sp.e his friends and former fellow-seryairis embark ; and 
when he bade them fareweil, lie said, t^iih a ycr/ em- 



phatic lone and manner, ' I will follow yon in aboat 18 
nionllis.' "^ 

'J he executors of Mr. Green's estate were bv no meani 
slack in meeting the icstalor's wiil,ei concefnirg these 
people. .Mr. Raiiey accompanied them lo New Orleans 
and both he and .Mrs. Wood, who also was in New Or- 
leans wh:le ihey were preparing lo embark, took a lively 
and active inieresi in providing ihem with evervibin-' 
necessary for ihcir comfort on the voyage, and ihei'r wel- 
uA-ll^J.}^''"^ arrival in the Coloiiy, and placed in my 
hand /OCOdoliars for iheir benefit, one ihousaud dollars of 
which were appropriated towards the charter of a »es«el 
to convey Ihem to the Colonv with ihe pri»ilcge of 140 
barrels fre;gbi— sixteen bundled dollars towards the pur- 
chase of an ouilit, consisting of mechanics' tools, imple- 
nienls of agriculture, household furniture, medicines, 
clothinj. tc, and the remaining four tbausaod four hun- 
dred dollars, partly invested in trade, goods, and partly 
in specie, were shipped and consigned to the Governor of 
Liberia, for their benefit, wiih as accompanying memo- 
randum made out by 31r. Railey,. showing how much »aa 
each one's portion. 

I w II close this communication by relatin? one addi- 
tional cireumsiance comraunicaled to me by Mr. Railey, 
lo shew the interest felt by Mr. Green in the success of 
the scheme of African Colonization. The dav previous 
to his death, be requested .Mr. Railey to wrii'e a memo- 
randum of several things which he wished done after bis 
death, which memorandum contains the following clauses, 
^''}' — '-After execuiin? all my wishes as expressed by 
W ill, hy ibis memorandum, and by verbal communica- 
tions. I .sincerely hope there will be' a handsome sum left 
for benefiiiing the emancipated negroes em-grating from 
this Stale to Liberia ; and to that end I ba^e more con- 
cern than you are aware of 

I am ainhorised hy the Executors to stale that there 
will be a Residuum io Mr. fireen's estate of twenty or 
thirty-five thousand dollars, which they intend lo appro- 
priate in conforraiiy with the views of Mr. Green express- 
ed above. Yours, Sec. 

ROBERT S. FLNLEY. 

And now I rest the ca*e, and commit the resnlt to aa 
enlightened public. Here are my proofs and arsuments, 
showing, 33 I believe, conelusiTely.ihat theslanJeroos ac- 
cusations against my coontry and my brethren which I 
have come to this city to repel, — are not only false, but 
incredible. Here are my testimonials, few and casually 
gathered up, but yet, as it seems to me, irresistablv coni^ 
vincin?, that the people and churches of .America — in the 
yery thing chained — have bei'D and are acting, a wise, 
sell'-denyin? and humane part. That they should move 
onward in it aa rapidly as Lhe happiness of all parties 
will allow, n-.nst be the wish of all gaod men. That ob- 
"stacles fhould be interposed through the error, the imprt]- 
dence, or the violence of well meaning but ill judgino' 
f>ersons, is tru'y deplorable. But that we should be tra- 
duced before the whole world, when we are innocent • 
that we should first be forced into most diffiealt circum- 
stances, aad then forced to manage those circumstance* 
in such 1 w-ay as to cause our certain ruin, by the very 
same people; or in default of sabmiitin; to both require- 
ments, be forced first into war, and afterwards into a 
state of bitter mutual contention, only less dreadful than 
war itself is ouirageotis and intolerable. While we justly 
complain of these things, we discliarje ourselves of the 
gnilt attributed to u«, and acquit ourselves to God and oar 
consciences, of all the fatal coosequences likely to follow 
snch conduct. 

Mr. THOMPSON rose, and spcke in neariv the fel- 
lowing words : — 

Mr. Chairinan — If I were to say that I ros« on the 
present occasion without a fetling of ansieiv regarding 
the issae of the discussion now drawing to' a c!o*e, I 
s'nould say what is rnjt the tnith. i cannot Femeffiber that 



63 



Fifth yight — Friilaij — Mr. Thompson. 



t 



I erer ilood before an auditory in a more iutereming or 
regponoiUle poeition. The (|iie»iion l^elore iw if one of 
rooinenliMiK inngniluJe; an 1 lii.il brnncli of il whirli lo- 
nigiit claiiiiii our upecial nllcntion, is of all oilier*, the 
mutt Boleiiin aiij delicatu. I am therefore anxious — ilerp- 
ly anxious — re»|»ecling the i(nprfii»ion which »hall r<-»l 
upon tlic mind.s of ihiH aHscnibly, \\hen I ha\e o«fiipie<i 
the attention of yourrcif and of it, for a porliin of liuie 
eoual to that which Iihr been rxjientled by my oppiiuent. 
If, however, I were to nay that I rose with »»v It-ilinj »( 
niarn) in the ronti-iii(»laliijn of the r«-»ult of tliai or<l« a! 
throu'^h whirh I am al>oul to pans, I »honi>l »peak that 
whirh woul.l l<o eqoallv ul variance witli the truth. >o 
far from in>hil(;ing any fear, or wi-hing to propitiate lhi» 
audience, I pray that for the Hake of tnith, humanity, 
and the country representee! by my opponent ; for lliemkB 
ol our rliirartiT in tliC night of t'jod at the audit of the 
great day; there may t* a »c\erc, jeuloiii', and impartial 
udgmeni formed, according to the evidence uhirh iJmll 
e Bubmiiled. Or, if it l»e im|>oMibl.- to liil I tlir l>.i!.ince 
mricily even, I :nk that the l<i.ii f.ir iIk- pn-.iil lo.iy !»« in 
favor of my opponent. It if true — I .iiii nut an Aiiirn- 
can. It i» true — I wa» in tho Tniied State* l»ut fourteen 
monlJK. It in triw — I never cro»»ed llm Potomac; neter 
saw a slave, uidusa that slave bad l>cen brv 
north by some lein|Hir.irv resident. Kec<-i\i 
with caution and su-piri<.n my rcilrmi-nu. I 
every discount u|K>n my a*«etti>m* which i< 
rashncmi, my want of idioervation and experi' 
At the same time I usk that every profn-r i ' 
(ipect ^h.lli l>e paid to the vvitneste* I sh.ill ' 
vi»u ; anil that however my lolimimy inny ' . 

theirs at leant may liave the weight which tlvcir riiwrartcr, 
atxl siatiun.and opportuaitics, sliall apjiear to entitle them 
to. 

I am accuwd of monstrous injuslire tnwanls Anierira, 
I when I say that in that country slavery weai^ its ntosl 
horrid fiirniri. Li sny ing tlii*. I mu»t e><»t be undrr»to<Kl 
ns iipeaking according to the actual phymcnl condition of 
the slave, or even ot his legal and |>u!i(icnl omdition, 
apart from the religion and institutions of the Ian. I in 
which liH lives. I judge n<>t by tho numlier of links in 
his chain; the numl>er of lathes inllicied on bis l>ack ; 
the nature i/f hi* toil, or the rjuality ur quantity of his 
food. It is, when irrespective of the Ireatnirnt of the 
ImmIv, 1 find two millii.nii of human bcingo reg irded as 
mere hantli:*e ; ranked with thi- U-aols of the tirlJ, and 
reduced by the ne|<lect of their immortal mind* to tiie 
Condi ion of hralbeiiN— it is when I find this awful -\»- 
tem in full o|>eratiun, FurrountVd by tJie barriers an 
gunrd.'i, the Law and the Cumititmiiiii, in the l'oit&'' ^ 
of North America; the land of Hej)U> licunism, nud ( i ■^■ 
lianily, and licvivals, that I t.\y — Slavery in America 
wears a form more horrid 'h.in in any otlifr p.irl of the 
world. Ves, Sir; when I am lold that w that land, lib- 
erty i« enjoyed to a greater extent tluvn in i>ny other coun- 
try — that the principle.< on which this lilx-rty and inde- 
pendence re-l are tliese — ' G<m1 crt- ated all men bee and 
equal.' — ' Resi>tnnce to TyianL^ is ol>edience lo <Joil;' — 
and see aUo two millijitx of captives; their dunge^»l^ bar- 
red and watched liv proud Kepubiic.in*, niid Ixjastin; 
L'hri.-tians — 1 turn wiih horror jind indignation away, ex- 
claiming, as 1 i|uit the sickening scene. Slavery wtHrs ila. 
Ino^'t lo.nhsoue form in the I'niied States of America J 

Uifiire I come to that portion of my Addre** whicK I . 
ghall present as a reply to iMr. Breckiiti idge, 1 beg to say 
one word in vindication of the charncier and iein)>er 
of American Abalitioni>ls ; and 1 am glad on thit occa- 
sion to lie able to cite the ie.<timony of a gen'leman, whom 
Mr. Breckinridge has not declined to call his friend ; I 
mean James G. Birney, Esq., formerly residing in the 
same slate with Mr. B-, but now io CinciiinHti. Mr. 
Uirney made a visit to ihe North last year for the purpose 
ot 3«certaiDing for hiiMolf, by aciiul ob;ervauon ■■uid in- 



tercourse, the re^al character of the AboUtionisls, a*d th* 
nianaer in which lliev pruseculcd llieir woik. Having 
done this, he thus writer : — 

Lml spring I aiieiided the Ohio Anti-Slavery Conven- 
tion ; Ha< present at the >eveiAl ineeiin;* nl the Ameri- 
can Anti-."*lavefy Soriciv in .\cv» Vork. mid ivl the Anii- 
Slavery ('■•nvenlinn held in B"»loii. On ibeve srvernl 
occaMons, I heCdme Ae<|uninird. and dvlit>ef«led with, il 
may Ik), not le** than one tboutand person*, who iiiny 
be l.tiily >el down as auMing the mokt iiiiclligeiil of the 
aboliiioiiitit. Suhjerts on whirh the mo^t riiverte 
o;i;iiion« v«ere enlertniiied, and uhirli In «mlMliou« nhiI 
uiilraiiied iniuHs «viiuld be agilnim:; and di<»eni:ous in 
the riltemr, were durutscd Miih the mokl mini and 
uiitufiled oini^oture. And whitil >ome of the Irmbng 
journals were ivemiiiK with the touWsl and the laUetl 
char get of moral .md |i..! . r j' iiir piimlr ; v* li l-t I line were 
proilurud in iIk ■ un lln- bio!> 

li.r Hjiiiriipriair •• ami pUce 

(if li..'.!i:'; III'- 1 1 ^ - . 1 ' IK ..... .V ■ ...g hi know at 

uiiit ;...:, I II 111 ;;lii ni.>«t <II<cIubIIv speud iianll ; yet, 
1!, V. 1 . ■ V f-. M ' , , I ., r ,. ' i inurii (.1 «rtfate (!rl:tirra- 



r.. 



:, but I'ur Utcir sUadernrs, anci pcisecuiots, aud 



Th<* a*>nv e it ■ fair areniint, so far as my knnwirtlge 
en ''•'e* r.ir ti •vpenk, t,f the e'lnrneter nf ih''«e v«bnm \iii 



ind »prak conienipiuouiijr of ihrm 

■ r f.l»««Tvrr clearly sees, that »uf li 

«o pouerful a weBpoa 

•- inviueihle ) and that lu 



I 

Will, of r. 
— whilst I 

aiiiajoir «? « . ; ■ 
n< I'le Tiiiih, n. 
the cud ibcy wi, , 

A word, loo,h(>rnrfl I enmf lo the slate of tlie clitirekes, 

with regard lo Mr. V ' ' ' ' .' • ' if, la»t 

evening; to which I i unity 

lo repiv ; an. I, us the ' m .n is 

now dctenninrti, I »hall l>r |>eiiiiiiied to I'.Mrll a lew mo- 
ment* nn llio uihjrcl. ^|r. Itierl. inridge did, I am ready 
111 .. ' ' ' ■ • ■ . ' views 

of I •..|.,r; 

th.u „ 1 that 

the ro|ore<l man uliould )>e raiMrd to tlic eojoyiuent of etpial 
civil rvnd re|i.,>ir.(i« |iriv driten with theHbilts. But, nfler 
'.ing correctly, the views 
lo put the most unfair 
.---,- '--.,' , .iiid ktrangely contended, 

liiat tiiey Mere directly aiming lo iiccompltth iIm> auialga- 
maiion uf the rares in the fullest aense of tlint word. 
Once again. I dent/ this. Once again, I appeal to all 
that the »lHiliiioni.-i!« have ever written or »pokea ; to 
their piiblistied, ofiicial, koleinn. and authorltaiive dis- 
claimers; and I say on my Ixdialf and on theirs, that with 
the intermixture of ' the n«ces,* aa ihey arc called, (a 
phra.«e I do not like,) the ab<ilitioni!>ts have nolhinetodo. 
W hat lliPV have ever con(ende<l fur is thii«, that ihe col- 
ored man should now l>e delivered from the condition of a 
l>e«t ; that he should cease to I* regardifd «• the pro|)er- 
.ly of his fellow-man; and that, according lo the laws of 
tnestate regulating the qualifications of citiiens, lie »bould 
be adiftitied t'l a participation of llie privili ge» that are 
pnjfiyed \jy other clasi>e« of ihe community. We have 
never QskeJ fur more. We have left the doctrine of 
amalgamation lo be settled by our opponents. The slave- 
bolderfi are the Bmalgamalist5, whose licentiou'neM haa 
gone far lo put nn end to the existence of a blick race 
in the South, and who are still carrying on, lo ose their 
own expression. * a bleaching systeni. whiteoirg llie pop- 
ulation of Uic South; 80 ihaf vou mav n«w diecoTcr f.ll 



Fifth Mght — Friday — 31r. Tfwmpson, 



G9 



shades of colored persons ; from those who are so fair that 
they are scarcely distinguishable from the whites, to the 
pure black of the unmixed negro. But my opponent de- 
feated himself. While attempting to expose the fully and 
wickedness of amalgamation, he at the same time con- 
tended that the thing was physically impossible; — that 
even a partial amalgamation could oidy be brought about 
by polygamy or prostitution, but that general amalgama- 
tion was hopeless — because physically impossible. If the 
thing be utterly beyond the reach of the abolitionists, why 
dread it as an evill Why not let the abolitionisis pursue 
their foolish and impracticable schemes 1 Wliy so much 
wrath against them for aiming at that which nature has 
rendered imaltainable 1 I leave Mr. Breckinridge to find 
his way out of this difficulty in the best manner he is 
able. 

Again, we are told that, in attempting to bring about 
amalgamation, and in preventing colonization, we are in- 
terfering with the purposes of God — fighting against his 
ordinances, and exposing Africa to the horrors of extcr- 
niination, should the descendants of Shem or Japhet col- 
onize her shores, and not the black man who has sprung 
from her tribes. I confess I am somewhat surprised, 
when told by a Presbyterian clergyman of Calvinistic sen- 
timents, that I am to regulate my conduct towards my 
fellow-men by the purposes of God, rather than by the 
laio of God. This is surely a new doctrine ! What, I 
ask, have 1 to do with the decrees of the Almighty 1 Has 
he not given me a law by which to walk 1 Has he not 
told me to love n)y neighbor as myself — to ' honor all 
men 1' Ami not told that God hath made of one blood 
all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the 
earth 1 Where is the prohibition to marry with tSliem or 
with Ham 7 I know of no directions in the Old Testa- 
ment respecting marriages, save such as were founded on 
religious differences, and I have yet to learn that there 
are any in the New Testament. That blessed V)ook de- 
clares, that in Christ Jesus, there is neither Jew nor 
Greek, circmncision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scy- 
thian, bond nor free, but all are one. The only injunc- 
tion 1 am aware of, is this — ' be not unequally yoked 
together with unbelievers.' 

Mr. Breckinridge made a considerable parade of his 
knowledge of universal history, and pretended to build 
his theory upon the most correct historical data. While, 
upon this subject of amali^amation and extermination, I 
will take the liberty of submitting one or two enquiries to 
Mr. Breckinridge. 

Is there any law in America forbidding ministers to cel- 
ebrate marriages between Japhethite American christians 
and Jewesses (by birth, even if Christians by faith,) and 
Jews, (even if Christians,) to marry Japhethite, Ameri- 
can females'? If there be not; then, why may Shem and 
Japhet intermarry, but Hum with neither 1 Again — if 
there be no such law, then the doctrine about Noah's three 
sons is not a principle on which the American people act, 
but Mr. B's individual dogma, got up to defend a line of 
conduct really proceeding without reference to any such 
principle. If it be said that Jewish and Japhethite Amer- 
icans are very nearly, if not altogether, of the same color; 
and that there are no political evils to be dreaded from 
the intermixture of Jews with Japhethites; — I reply, 
that, admitting the truth of both these representations, is 
not the sin of mixing Noah's sons, and counterworking 
the designs of God, the same in the case of Shem and 
Japhet, as it would be in the caseof Japhet or Shem with 
the tribes of Ham 1 — Again — 

Did the Romans (Japhethites) exterminate the Jews, 
(Shemites 1) 

Did the Arab Shemites, conquerors of Egypt, extermin- 
ate the ancient inhabitants, (Hamites,) who still exist, 
and are known by tlie name of Copts or Cophti 1 

Did not the Tartars, now Turks, (a Japhethite tribe,) 



when they conqured the Caliphs, embrace the religion of 
the conquered, who were Mf)hammedans and Shemites 1 

Did not the Shemite Mohammedans con(|uer the Per- 
sians, Japhethites,) apart of whom, who would not em- 
brace the Mohammedan religion, and could not be tolerated 
by the Mohammedans in theirs, (viz., fire worship,) ilce to 
India, where they still exist, known by the name of Gue- 
bers, while the rest of tlie people, embracing iMohamjnedian- 
ism, amalgamated with their conquerors — and is not the 
modem J^ersian language a proof of this, in which all 
the terms of religion and science are Arabic, (Shemite,) 
the rest of the language being a colluvies of the Deri,' 
Zend, and Pelitavi dialects, which the most eminent phi- 
loloijists consider as all resolvable into Sanscrit, the most 
ancient J;iphethite speech existing 1 

The cases of the Romans and Jews, and of the Arab 
con()uerors of Egvpt, and the Copts, are instances of con- 
quest without extermination — the parties remaining dis- 
severed by religious difi'erences. The cases of the Tartar 
i'urks, and the; Arabs — and of the Arabs and the Per- 
sians, are cases of con(]uest without extermination, and 
roith amalgamation ; the conquerors in the first case 
having adopted the religion of the conquered, and the con- 
quered in the second case, that of the con(|uerors. 

Instead of the Americans proceeding in their conduct 
towards the colored people, with any reference either to 
the divine laws or the divine decrees, they act solely under 
the influence of their pride and prejudice. How theii' 
prejudice was in the first place produced, it is not neces- 
sary at this time to enf|uiro. I may just remark, that 
color has long been the badge; of slavery. Long have the 
negroes been an enslaved and degraded class. The child 
is tutored to look upon a colored man as an inferior, and 
this feeling of superiority, implanted early in the mind of 
the child, growiui; with his growth, and strengtheuin<» 
with his strength, becomes at last a confirmed and almost 
invincible principle, disposing him, with eagerness, to- 
adopt any views of revelation which will permit him to» 
cherish and gratify his pride and hatred towards the col- 
ored man. Hence has arisen the aristocracy of ihe skin.- 
Hcnce the many lamentable departures from the spirit and 
precepts of the gospel every day witnessed in the United 
Stales. Two illustrations of the force of prejuilice ares- 
now before us. The first is a short article from the New 
York Evangelist, copied into the Scottish Guardian ofthisc 
city. I will read it entire. It is as follows: — 

A Hard Case. — A native born American applied to our- 
authorities this morning for a license to drive a cart. He- 
has been for years employed as a porter in Pearl Street,- 
principally among the booksellers, who were his petition- 
ers to the number of forty firms. He is an honest, tem- 
perate, and in every respect, a worthy man ; of an ami- 
able disposition, muscular frame, and of good address,, 
and every way calculated for the situation he seeks; be- 
sides, being a member of the Society of Friends, a suf- 
ficient recommendation of itself; for the office is now fill- 
ed in part by swearing, drunken, quarrelling foreigners, 
who are daily disturbing the quiet of our streets hy their 
broils, and. endangering the lives of our citizens by their 
ini'uriate conduct. 

Wm. S. Hewlett was refused, by our Mayor, on the 
ground of public opinion ! because 

• guilty of a skin 



Not colored like bis own.' 

Hewlett owns property in William Street to the amount 
of 20,000 dollars — but prefers, unlike many of no more ■ 
income, a life of industry and economy, to seeking ' oti- 
um cum dignitale.' 

'What man seeing this, 
And having human feelings, does not blush, 
And bang his head to own himself a man.' 



70 



Fifth Night — Friday— Mr. Thompson. 



TliR nr-st ia founil in a letter written by a Professor 
Sinilli, of the Weslevan University, New York, wlio, 
while vindicalin-i; the University from the cliarge of hav- 
in;^ expellel a yoiin;; "W" ' f""" '''^ crime of color,' uiukes 
tliL- following admission: — 

« That it would be didlcult, in the present state of pnh- 
lic feeling, to preserve a colore<l iiidivitliial from imnii.- 
tiide in any of our eollejiiate schools, and to render his 
connection with them intolerable, is not denied.' 

I come now, continued . Mr. T., to the state of the 
American chinches in regard to slavery; and to attempt 
a justificalion of the heavy charges 1 have brought against 
them. If, at the cli.se of this address, it shall appear that 
I ii ive misrein-eseiited the Christians of .Aineriia ;— thai 
I hare stated as ficts, things which arc untrue — I solemn- 
ly call upon those who have hitherto vindicated my repu- 
tation, and sustained me as the truthful advocate of the 
cause of huin;iii rights, to iliscar.l me as utterly disquall- 
<5ed to be their representative in so sacred a work— be- 
cause, capable of pleading for JUSTICE at the expense 
ofnU'TH. .. „ ,. 

Of sl.iveholding ministers in America, !Mr. Micckin- 
ridoe h as a.sserted, that thev are as ONK l.N A THOU- 
SANU, or at most, as ONE l.N FIVE HUNDRED. 
The firsil document I shall quote to disproxe thU ai««er- 
tion, will l)e a letter in the South'-rn Il<l..;I..ui( Tcle- 
rraph, of Octol)er 31, 1S33. addressed to tin- I'rrr.b\ter- 
ian clergy of Virginia; written to warn these ministfrs 
against piirsuitR calculated to injure their s|iiritualily, <lc- 
st'roy their usefulness, and prevent those revivals of relig- 
ion "with which other portion.* of the Church of Christ had 
been lavored ; also to account for an a|ipareul declension 
in piety in the slate generally. It i" proper to remark, 
that the letter from which 1 make the present extract, was 
not written to promote the cause of abolition, — that the 
writer never imagined it would be used on such an oeca- 
5,ion, — and that the newspaper iu which it appears, is pro- 
blavery to the very core : — 

' In one region of our country, wlieic I am ac/|uaiutcd, 
of rather more than THIRTY Presbyterian ministers, iu- 
cludin" missionaries, 'rWUNTY are farmers, (viz. plan- 
ters ami SLWKHOLDERS) ON A PKETTY EX- 
TENSIVE SCALE; three are school teachers; one is 
a farmer and a teacher; one a farmer and a merchant, 
and a joint proprietor of iron works, which mnst be in 
t.perati(jn on the Sabbath ; and one is a farmer and edi- 
tor of a political newspaper. The.«e farmers genernl'v 
superintend their own business. TIIEV OVERSBE 
THEIR NEGROES, attend to their stock, make 
purchases, and visit the markets to make sale of their 
crops. They necessarilv have much intercourse w>ib iheir 
neighbors on worl.lly business, and not unfrequently come 
into unpleasant collision with the merchants. 

O, sir, what a revelation of things is here * These are 
not the calumnies of George Thompson, but the confess- 
ion of one, striving earnestly to awaken the mtention of 
the Virginia clergy to a sense of the degradation and bar- 
rennes3°of the Church, and to direct their attention to the 
main causes of such lamentable effects. 

Next, permit me to request your attention to an extract 
from an ' Address to the Presbyterians of Kentucky, pro- 
nosinf a nlan for the instruction and emancipation ot their 
slaves-, by a committee of the SYNOD OF KEN- 
TUCKY.— Cincinnati, published by Ely TayW, ISSo.' 
We shall in this document get at the opinion of men sen- 
sitively jealous for the honoV, purity and usefulness of the 
Presbyterian churches, from which .Mr. lireckinridge is a 
DELEGATE What say they of slavery in general, and 

the practice of THEIR CHURCH in particular:— 
' Brutal stripes, and all the varieus kinds of personal 

indiguities, are not the only species of cruelly, which 



slavery licenses. The law does not recognize the family 
relations of a slave ; and extends to him no protection in 
the enjoyment of domestic endearmenls. The members 
of a slave family niay be forcibly separated, so that lliey 
sli.'ill nevermore meet until the final judgment. And cu- 
pidity often induces the masters to praclice what the law 
allows. Brothers and sisters, parents and childrrn, hus- 
liaiwK and wives, are torn assunder, and permitted to see 
each oilier no more. These acts are ilaily occurring in 
lli<' miiUtofus. The shrieks and the agony, often wiiiiev- 
seil on such occasions, proclaim with a irumpci-iongue the 
iiii(|uiiy and cruelly of our system. The cries of these sid- 
fercrs cocs up to the ears of the Lord of Salmolh. There 
is not a neiuliluirliood. where these heart-reiuliiig scenes 
are not displayed. There is not a village or road that 
does not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts, 
whose chains and mournful countenances tell ih.it they 
are exiled by force from all that their hearts held dear. 
Our rlinrch, years ago, raised its voice of solemn warn- 
ing against this flaeranl violation of every principle of 
mercy, justice, and humanity. Yet \\V. BLU.'^H TO 
ANNOUNCE TO YOU AND TO THE WORLD, 



PH \ T THIS WARNING HAS BEEN OFTEN DIS- 
REGARDED. EVEN BY THOSE WHO HOi.D 
TO OUR COMMUNION. CASES HA\ E OCCUR- 
RED, IN OUR OWN DENOMINATION. WHERU. 
I'ROFF.SSORS iW THE RELKHON Of MEIU'V 
;i \VET(MIN THE MOTHER FROM lll.R rHII.D- 
IlEN. AND SENT HER INTO A MERCILESS 
AND KETURN1.ES«I EXILE. VET Af'TS OF 
DISCIPLINE HAVE. RARE.LY FOLLOWE.D SUCH 
CONDUCT.' 

Follow me now info the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of 
the Pre-bvterian church of the United Slate", ronxened in 
Pi|lsl>ur3h, Pennsylvania, in May, 18.3.'), ami let the indi- 
vidual who addresses von be forgoiion, while you listen 
to the thinjs iittej-ed in the midst of that solemn crmvoca- 
lion. At the time when the passages I am about to read, 
were spoken, there were sitlin(j in llr.it Assemblymen from 
all parts of the country. The .'Southern churches fully re- 
presented by row upon row of Ministers and Elders from 
every region of the slaveholdiiie states. In that Assem- 
bly, one year from this lime, did the Rev. J. H. Dickey, 
of the Chilicothe Presbytery. Ohio; (a clercyman v.lio 
hail passed thirty years of his life in a slave state,) and Mr. 
Picwart, a ruling ehler from the Presbytery of Schuyler, 
Jllinois, make the f .llowine statements, which have re- 
mained, I believe, uncontradicted to this hour: — 

' 'He (Mr. Dickey.) h*lie%ed there were many, and 
great evils in the Prcshylerian church ; but the doctrine 
of sl.iveholding. he was fully persuaded, was the worst 
Ijcresy now found in the church.' 

' .^I'r. Slewarl— I hope this Assembly are prepared to 
come out fully and declare their sentiments, that slave- 
holding is a mnst flagranl and heiuous SLN. Let us not 
pass it by in this indirpcl way, w hile so many llidusands 
and thousands of our fellow-creatures are wriihing under 
the lash, often" inflicted, loo, by MINISTERS AND 
ELDERS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.' 

'IN THIS CHURCH, a man may lake a free-born 
child, force it away from its parents, to whom God gave 
it in charge, saying, ' Bring it up for mc,' and sell it as a 
beast, or hold ii in perpetual boadage. and nol only es- 
cape corporeal punishment, but reallv he esteemed an ox- 
cellenichnsiiai; NAY, EVEN M INISTERS OF THE 
GOSPEL, AND DOCTORS OF DIVINITY, may en- 
gage in ihis unholy traffic, and y«l sustain their high aud 
boly calling,' 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Thompson. 



'1 



• ELDERS, MINISTERS, AND DOCTORS OF 
DIVINITY, ARE WITH BOTH HANDS ENGAGED 
IN THE PRACTICE. * * * * 

A Kliiveh(jl(ier who is making gains by the (rade, may have 
as good a cliaracter for honesty as any other man.' 
* # * * * 

No language can point the injustice and abominations 
of slavery. But in these United States, this vast amount 
of moral turpitude is (as I believe,) justly chargeable to 
the Church. I do not mean to say those church members 
who acluallv engage in this diabolical practice, liut I mean 
to say THE CHURCH. Yes, sir, all the infidelity that 
is the result of this unjust conduct of the professed follow- 
ers of (CHRIST; all the unholy amalgamation; all the 
tears and groans; all the eyes that have been literally 
plucked from their sockets; all the pains and violent 
deaths from the lash, and the various engines of torture, 
and all the souls that are, or or will be eternally damned, 
as a consequence of slavery in these United States, ARE 
ALL JUSTLY CHARGEABLE TO THE CHURCH; 
AND HOW MUCH FALLS TO THE SHARE OF 
THIS PARTICULAR CHURCH, YOU CAN ESTI- 
MATE AS WELL AS I.' 

# # -s # # 

' The judgments of God are staring this Church full in 
the face, and (hreatening her dissolution. She is all life 
in matleis of doctrine, and on some points where men 
m;;v honestly differ; while sins of a crimson ilye are com- 
nm'ted, in open day, BY MEMBERS OF THIS 
CHURCH WITH PERFECT IMPUNITY.' 

I appeal to you, sir, and this audience ; did George 
Thompson ever utter charges against American churches 
more ;iwIliI than those contained in the extiacts I have 
read — ex(racfs from speeches made in the General As- 
sembly of the body from which Mr. Breckinridge is a 
delegate 1 1 leave for the present the Presbyterians, and 
proceed to notice the state of the 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES. 

Mr. Bre<kinridge displayed great regard lor the reputa- 
tiiin of this body. He believed tliey were almost free 
from the sin of slaveholding — their discipline was most 
empliatic in i!s condemnation of it, and he defied me to 
show that any Methodist was engaged in the infernal 
praclice of slave trading. First, as to the probable ex- 
tent of slavery in the church. On this point I shall (piote 
fidiii a solemn and authenlicaled document issued by a 
iinmber of ministers in the Methodist Episcopal body in 
l\evv England, entitled : — 

' An appeal on the subject of Slavery, addressed to the 
members of the New England and New Hampshire Con-' 
fcreiiccs of the Methodist Episcopal Church; ' aiid sign- 
ed by 

SHIPLEY W. WILLSON, 
ABRAM D. JIERRILL, 
LA ROY SUNDERLAND, 
GEORGE STORRS, 
J A RED PERKINS. 

Boston, Dec. 19th, 1S34. 

In answer to the question — 

' When will Shivery cense from our chwrch, if we con- 
tinue to alter our rules against it as we have done for 
some ye.'.rs past 1 ' they observe — 

' But we will not duell on this part of our subject; it 
is painful enough to- think of; and, as Members of the 
iMelhodist Episcopal Ciiurcli, and as Methodist preachers, 
we readily confess we are exceedingly afllicted with a 
view of it, and still more with a knowledge of the fact, 
that the ' great evil' of slavery has been increasing, both 
among llie membership and ministry of the Methodist 
Epi.3Copal Church at a fearful rate, for thirty or forty years 



past. The general minutes of our Annual Conferences, 
announce abcmt 80,000 c(dored members in our church ; 
and it is highly probable from various reasons which 
might be named, that as many as sixty tholisand, or up- 
wards (jf these, are slaves; but what porportion of these 
and others are enslaved by the Methodist Members and 
Methodist Preachers, we have no means of determin- 
ing precisely; but the alterations which ha\e been 
made in the discipline, show at once that the number is 
neither kvi nor small; and if this evil was a ' great' one 
fifty years ago, what must it be now 1 What will it be 
filty or a hundred years hence, should the, discipline be 
ALTERED as it has been during half a century past % 
Who can lell where this ' great ' and growing 'evil,' wilt 
end 1 We frequently hear christians and christian minis- 
ters expressing the greatest fears for the safety of the ' po- 
litical ' union of these United States, whenever the sub- 
ject of slavery is mentioned ; but no fears as to the pros- 
perity and peace of the christian church, though this 
' evil ' be ever so ' great,' and though it be increasing, 
every day a thousand fold. But can it be supposed that 
any branch of the christian church is in a healthy and 
prosperous state, while it slumbers and nurses in its bos- 
om so great an evil.' 

In reply to the challenge to produce one instance of a 
slave-tiadmg iMethodist, I give the following from ' Zion's 
Watchman,' a mclhodist newspaper published in New- 
York. It is from a letter of a correspondent of that pa- 
per :— 

' A man came among us where I was preaching, a class- 
leader from Georgia, having a regular certificate, who- 
appeared to be very zealous, exhorting and praying in our 
meetings, &c. I thought I had got an excellent helper;: 
but, on inquiring his business, I found he was a SLAVE- 
TRADER — come on purpose to buy up men, women andi 
children, to drive to the south ! ! ! I expostulated with' 
him; but he said it was not thought wrong where he came- 
from. I told him we could not countenance such a thing.- 
liere, and that we could hold no fellowship with him.' He- 
farther told me that, on en(|uiring of a slave he had witb 
him, what sort of a master he was, he replied, 'I have- 
had f)ur masters, but this is the most cruel of them all ; ' 
and told him, as a proof of it, to look at his back, which, 
said the minister, was cut with a wdiip from his head tf> 
his heels ! ! ' The Rev. S. W. Willson, of Andover, Uni- 
ted States, gives also an extract of a letter he had seeit 
from a gentleman of high standing, who was at the south' 
at the time of writing, which says, — 'The south is toa 
much interested in the continuance of slavery to hear any 
thing upon the subject. The preachers of the (iospel are- N 
in the same condemnation, and METHODIST PREACH- 
ERS ESPECIALLY. The principal reason why the 
Methodists in these regions are more numerous and popu- 
lar.xhan other denominations is, THEY STICK SO 
CLOSELY TO SLAVERY!! THEY DENOUNCE 
BOTH THE ABOLITIONISTS AND THE COLONI- , 
ZATIONISTS.' 

To show the extent to which THE BAPTIST 
CHURCHES SHARE THE GUILT OF THE SYS- 
TEM OF SLAVERY IN ASIERICA, it will be sufii- 
cient to read an extract from a letter addressed to the 
board of Bajxist Ministers in and near London, by the 
Rev. Lucius Boiles, D. I)., the Corresponding Secretary 
of the American Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. The 
testimony is the stronger, because th.e whole letter is a- 
carefully written apology for southern religious slavehold- 
ers, and an attempt to silence the remonstrances of the 
English Churches. 

'There is a pleasing degree of union among the multi- 
plying thousands of Bapti.-ts throughout the land. Breth- 
ren from all parts of the countiy meet in one General 
Convention, and GO-operate in sending the Gospel to the 



79 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Thomjison. 



hontlicn. Our Soiitlicrn l)ict!iron are liberal nnd zealous 
ill ihe proiuiJiioii ol" everv Imlv enterprise I'nr ihe exten- 
Bion of the Gospel. tllKY ARC, GENERALLY, 
BOTH MIMSTERS AND PEOPLE, SLAVEHOLD- 
ERS.' 

In tliis connection, I may notice the recommendation of 
tlie work .)f Drs. Cox and Hohy. We are- assured l)_v 
Mr. IJrecUinridge, (llion^li lie confes.«es lie has not read 
the hook,) that eicry rf•pre^■entati(m it contain^• relative to 
Slavery aln^ng^ft ' the liaptislH in America' may be re- 
lied on. Tli;U i)ook, ihns endorsed l)y Air. H., informs us 
that the depiitaliim were permitted to sit in ihe convention 
at Richinon I, Vir;;inia, only on condilion of profound 
■silence tuiichin;^ the uron;,'s of more than two niillioiis of 
llcallK'nized i-l.tvc;!. We are grn\ely told that llie iiilro- 
duciioii of abolition would have l>een 'an IN'rUlJSlO.N 
a.>! RUDE a.-< it would have been UNWELCOME.' It 
woul I, .says the Delegates, have ' FRUS Tit A TED every 
object of our mi.-isiou ; ' ' awaUene I ll'tSTIMTY and 
kindled DLSLIKE ;" roused into EMlliri'EKEI) AC- 
TIVITY fi-idlii^« bnt«een christian brethren which mu.it 
have SEVERED the IJaplist Churches.' It would have 
oecasione.l the ' UTTER CONFUSION OF ALL OR- 
DER, the RUIN .d" all <hri>ti.in fccliiiR,' and 'THE 
DESTiiUcriON OF ALL LOVE AND FELLOW- 
Sllll'; ' and the Convention would cither have l)een 
• DISSOLVED' bv ' .MAC;iSTERIAL INFLUENCE,' 
or 'THE DELEGATES W(JULD HAVE DISSOLV- 
ED THE.MSELVES ' !!! Yet this was 'a sacred and 
lieavcniy meeting ' in which 'the kindliest emotions, the 
wannest afiections, the loveliest spirit towartis ourselves, 
)(lhe Baptist Dcleiratcs,) towards England nnd mankind ' 
«xistud ! (Jii, Sir, is it 'possible to draw a more aflVcling 
|)icture of the withering and corrupting inlhieiices of sla- 
very, than is here presented to our view in this descrip- 
tion of the triennial cointMition of Rapti.'.t iuini.ster«, as- 
«(?niblud in the city of Richmond, Virginia, in the year 
1S35. 

AMOS DRESSER'S CASE. 

I |)roc"ced to notice the case of Amos Dresser; the 
young man who was so iiiliiminiily tortured by the citizens 
and professin-j Christians of the city of .Nashville, Ten- 
nessee. I can assure my oiiponent that the discrepancy 
ill my statenuMits wiiich he lias noticed, is an error in re- 
porting 1 am not aware of having ever stated the num- 
ber of elders in the comisiiitee to be eleven. My slale- 
nient of the cas(! hns always been sini|dy this — Iliat .Mr. 
Dresser, a pious and respectable young man, was appre- 
hended in Nashville on suspicion of being an abolitionist — 
brought before a Vigilance (/oniinillee — and, according to 
' Lvnc.li Law,' was sentenced to receive 20 lashes with a 
cowskin, on his bare back. That he was so punislicJ — 
and that upon the committee were seven ciders of the 
I'resbvterian Cluirch, and one Cainpbcllite minister. TIiq 
whole case as narrated by Mr. Dresser, and plll;li^hed in 
tlie Cincinnati Gazette, is now before me. The Commit- 
tee by which Mr. Dresser was tried and sentenced is call- 
ed a * Committee of Vigilance and safety ' ! ! 

The following are the names of the seven ciders in the 
Presbyterian Church: — 

JOHN MCHOL, 
ALPHA KINGSLEY, 
A. A. CASSEDAY, 
\VM. ARMSTRONG, 
SA.MUEL SEAV, 
S. V. D. STOUT, 
S. C. ROBINSON. 
The name of the Camnbellitc Minister — 

THOMAS CLAIBORNE. 
The Committee, after examing his books, papers, and 
private memoranda, and hearing his defence, found him 
guilty — 1st, ' of being a member of an Anti-Slavery So- 
ciety' in Ohio J * 2d, 'of haviug in his possession periodi- 



cals published by the American Ahti-Slavery Sociely;' 
and 3dly, 'they BELIEVED he had circulated these pe- 
riodicals, and advcicaled in the community the principles 
they inculcated.' The Chairman (sajs Mr. Dres.-er) then 
pronoimceil that I was condemned to receive tweniv lasli- 
es on my bare back, and ordered to leave the place m 
twenty-four hours. This was not an hour previous to the 
commencement uf the Sabbath. Mr. Dresser gives the 
f<dlowing account of the iiiliiction of the sentence : — 

• I knelt to receive the punishment, which was infliried 
by Mr. Braiigliton, the city ollicer, with it HEAVY 
COW.SKIN. When the inlliclion censed, an involuntary 
feeling of thanksgiving to God lor the fortitude with whiiii 
I had been enabled to endure it, arose in iiiv soul, to 
which I began aloud to give utterance. The dcalh-bke si- 
lence that prevailed for a moment, was suddenly broken 
with loud ex(damutionB, ' (.i — d il — n him, stop liis pray- 
ing.' 1 was raised to my feet by Mr. Braughton, and 
coiidiictcil l.'y him to inv lodging, where it was thouglit 
safe r>r me to remain but for a lew inomcntE.' 

* Among my trier*, was a great portion of the respect- 
ability of Nashville. Nearly half the whole number, pro- 
fessors of Christianity, the reputed stay of tlie Church, 
supporters of the cause of bcncvnience in the furm ol tVact 
and missionary societies and Sabliath Schools, several 
members, and most of the ciders of the Prcsbylerinn i 
Church, from whose liamls, but a few dnys l>efore, I had 'I 
received the emblems of the broken body and shed blood 

of our blessed Saviour.' (!!!!) 

.Mr. Breckinridge has twice referred to the appenranrr 
of a runaway slave at my lecliircs in London, and has ac- 
cused me of carrying him about with me, to enact iiitci- 
ludes iluring my meetings. I can assure .Mr. Breckinridgi- 
that I never had any thing to do with the atli-ndance 'I 
Moses Roper at my meetings or with ihc .«peeches he do- 
livered. t)n neither of the occasions meulioned had I any 
knowledge of liiis being in the chapel until 1 found li nil 
amongst my auditors. .As for ileiiyiiig the fads stiited l;y 
liim, knowing as I do the briilali/.iiig elTecls of sla\er\ , 
nnd the state of society in the slave stales of .'America, it 
Is out of the question. 1 see nothing in the f.nln slated 
by Moses Roper at all improbable. Since I la.-t caiiie to 
this city I ha\e read in an Aniciiran newspaper, an ac- 
count of an alT.iir in Tennessee, at which the blood runs 
ridd. A black man having committed some crime, was 
loc'ged in prison by the authorities, but being demanded by 
the citizens, was given up to them — tie<l to a tree, and 
BUR.NT ALIVE ! During my residence in the United 
Slates, a ntgro wa.i Burnt Alive accortling to a sentenre 
given by one of the constituted trilninals of the Stale ! It 
was called an exemplary punishment, and many of tlic 
papers throughout the coimtiy were filled with long an I 
learned articles, justifying the horrid outrage. .Mr. 
Breckinridge may point to ihe laws and thecoiisliltilioii of 
the country, but I tell him they and the authorities ap- 
pointed to'enf irce them arc alike powerless. I point linn 
to the atrocities of Lyni h law all over the land — to the 
brutal massacre of the gamblers in .Mississippi, wlieiemeii 
in broad daylight were dragged forth, and tied by thcnciU 
to branches of trees, iheir eyes starling from their sock- 
ets—and their wives driven across ihe river, in open boats 
— their lives tnrcatened for daring to ask for the dead 
bodies of their husbands. I ask if any law reached tlw- 
ftenils in human shape who perjietrated these deeds. 1 asL 
Mr. Breckinridge if any law puaished the felons ol 
Charleston, who, seizing the public conveyances, violated 
the constitution, and the law of the State, by robbing il/'' 
mail bags of their contents, and burinng them ] Did no' 
the Postmaster General encouragingly say, ' 1 canimt 
sanction, but I will not condemn what you have done. In 
voiir circumstaaces I would have acted in a similar man- 
iicr.' Need I remind ftlr. Breckinridge of the mobs at 
the north— the riots of New York— the sacking of Mr. 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Thompson. 



73 



Tappan's bouse, ami the doniolitioii of ooloied pcliools. 
Laws tliere may lie, l)iit wliile slavery exists, and is de- 
fended by public sentiment, and wliile the ferocious prtjn- 
dice against color remains, tliey will want the ' executory 
principle,' without wiiicii tliey are Ixit cruel mockery. 

A glance at the moral and religious state of the slave 
population will show the amount of care and attention ex- 
ercised by the christian churches at the south. 

What sajs the Rev. C. C Jones, in a sermon preached 
before two associations of Planters in Georgia in 1834 1 

• Generally -speaking they (the slaves) appear to us to 
be withiiut (iod and without hope in the world, a NA- 
TION OF HKA'J'HENS in om- very midst. We can- 
not cry out against the raiii>ts for withholding the Scrip- 
tures from the common people, and keeping them in igno- 
rance of the way of life, fir we WITHHOLD the Biiile 
from our servants, and keep them in ignorance of ii, 
while we will not use the means to have it read and ex- 
plained to them. The cry of our perishing servants comes 
lip to us from the sultry jilains as ihey bend at their toil — 
it comes up from their himible cottages when they return 
at evening to rest their weary limbs — it comes up to us 
from the midst of their ignorance, and superstition, and 
adultery and lewdness. We have manifested no eincjtions 
of horror at abandoning the souls of our serxau's to the 
adversary, the roaring lion that walketli about seeking 
whom he may devour.' 

Again: what said the Synod of South Carolina and 
Georgia, in a report on the state of the colored popula- 
tion, in respect of religious instruction 1 

' Who would credit it, that in these years of revival and 
benevolent eiTort, in this Christian Republic, there are 
over TWO JMILLIONS of human beings in the condition 
of HEATHEiN, and in some respects in a worse condi- 
tion. From long continued and close observation, we be- 
lieve that their moral and religious condition is such, that 
they may justly be considered the HEATHEN of this 
Christian Country, and will bear comparison with heath- 
en in any comitry of the world. The negroes are desti- 
tute of the gospel, and EVER WILL BE UNDER THE 
PRESENT STATE OF THLNGS. In the vast litdd 
extending from an entire stale beyond the Potomac, to 
the Sabine River, and from the Atlantic to the Ohio, 
there are, to the best of our knowledge, not TWELA'E 
men exclusively devoted, to the religious instruction of the 
negroes. In the present stale of leeling in the South a 
ministry of their own color could neither be obtained 
NOR TOLERATED.' 

Again: w'hat says a writer in a recent niimber of the 
Charleston (.South Carolina) Observer ? 

' Let us establish missionaries among our negroes, who, 
in view of Religions knowledge, are as debasingly igno- 
rant as any one on the coast of Africa; for I haziird the 
assertion that throughout the bounds of our Synod, there 
are at least one hundred thousand Slaves, speaking the 
same language as ourselves, who never HEARD of the 
plan of salvation by a Redeemer.' 

A writer in the Western Luminary, a respectable re- 
ligions pa|)er in Lexington, Kentucky, says, ' I proclaim 
it abroad to the Christian world, that heathenism is as 
real in the slave slates as it is iii the South Sea Islands, 
and that our negroes are as justly objects of attention to 
the American and other boards of foreign missions, as the 
Indians of the western wilds. What is it constitutes 
heathenism 1 Is it to be destitute of a knowledge of God 
—of his holy word — never to have heard scarcely a sen- 
tence of it read through life — to know little or nothing of 
the history, character, instruction and mission of Jesus 
Christ — to be almost totally devoid of moral knowledge 
and feeling, of sentiments of probity, truth and chastity '\ 
If this constitutes heathenism, then are there thousands, 

10 



millions, of heathen in our beloved land,. There is one 
topic to which I will allude, xvhich will serve to establish 
tilt: heathenism of this population. I alluile to the uni- 
versal licentiousness which prevails. It may be saiil ein- 
I)hatically that chastity is no virtue among them — that its 
violation neither injures female character in their own es- 
timation, or that of their master or mistress. No instruc- 
tion is ever given — no censure pronounced. I speak not 
of the world; I speak of Christian families generally.' 

Again: I give the words of the son of a Kentucky 
shneliidder, who became an abolitionist at Lane Semina- 
ry, ;;nd has since induced his father to emancipate his 
slaves. Hear James A. Thome: 

' Licentiousness. I shal; not speak of the far South,, 
whose sons are fast melting away under the Ui\ BLUSH- 
ING PROFLIGACY which prevails. 1 allude to tl'ie 
slaveholding West. It is well known that the slave 
lodgings, 1 refer now to village slaves, are exposed to the 
entrance of strangers every hour of the night, and that the 
SLEEPING APARTMENTS OF BOTH SEXES ARE 
COMMON.' 

' It is also a fact, that there is no allowed intercourse 
between the families and servants, after the work of the 
day is over. The family, assembled for the evening, en- 
joy a conversation elevating and instructive. But the poor 
slaves are thrust out. No ties of sacred home thrown 
around them; no moral instruction to compensate for tlie 
toils of the day; no intercourse as of man with man; 
and should one of the younger members of the I'amily, led 
by curiosity, steal out into die filthy kitchen, the child i» 
speedily called back, thinking itself happy ifit'escape 
an angry rebuke. Why is ihis 1 The dread of moral 
Contamination. Most excellent reason ; but it reveals a 
horrid picture. The slaves, cut oft" from all community 
of feeling with their master, roam over the village streets, 
shocking the ear with their vulgar jeslings, and voluptu- 
ous songs, or opening their kitchens to the reception of 
the neigiiboring blacks, they pass the evening in gambling, 
dancing, drinking, and the most obscene conversation, 
kept up until the night is far spent, then crown the scene 
with indi,scriminate DEBAUCHERY. Where do these 
things occur ] IN THE KITCHENS OF CHURCH 
MEMBERS AND ELDERS ! ' 

I shall now take the liberty of reading two letters from 
highly respectable gentlemen in the South, to friends in 
New England. The first is from a Clergyman in North 
Carolina, to one of the Professors in Bowdoin Colledge, 
Maine. 

' You remember that when I was with you last sum- 
mer, I was much opposed to the Anti-Slavery Society, 
and contended that the colonization scheme was a full, 
and the only remedy, for the evils of Slavery, and that I 
made a sort of talk before the students on the subject of 
Slavery. It was a poor talk, for it was a miserable 
theme. I do not think what I said had any effect against 
the anti-slavery people, or at all strengthened the cause of 
the Colonization Society. Be this as it may, I feelit !i 
duty I owe both to myself and to the friends" I liave with 
you, to say, that iny views and leelings, which were then 
wavering, have since, after mature deliberation and nincli 
prayer, i»een entirely changed, and that I ajn now a strong 
anti-slavery man. Yes, after mature reflection, I am the 
sworn enemy of slavery in all its forms, with all its evils. 
Henceforth it is a part of my religion to oppose slavery. 
I am greatly surprised, that I should in any form have 
been the apologist of a system, so full of deadly poison to 
all holiness and benevolence as slavery, the concocted es- 
sence of fraud, selfishness, and cold-h'earted tyran;<iy, and 
the fruitful patent of umuimbered evils, both to the op- 
pressor and the oppressed, the 1000th part of which has 
never been brought to light. 



74 



Fifth }\rglit — Friday — Mr. Thompson. 



Do you ask, why this change after rcfiding in a slave (generally) with llie I;rast9 wiili which they arc clasgerf: 

counlrv for twenty years'? You recollect the lines of Pope, ami 1 am credibly iiifornieil that many eniigi ants from the 

be-'inuini/ sla\e i^talcs, \vho own phintations on the Mii^soiui l{i\tr, 

•'vice i. a monster of such frightf.il mein, !!";!%' ll'cnselves di.<,ual,li...l by thc-ir former habi-.s of 

That to be hated, needs but to be seen.' .ndolcnce to conipoU.- w,(h em.s>ants ol another cha.a.lc 

in pnlurpriNC, turn their ailiMUujn to the raising ol slaxo. 

I had become FO, familiar with the Uratiisome features as they Would caillc, to be soKi to the Negro dealers to go 

of Slavery that they ceased to olTend — besides 1 had be- down the river. What sort of standard of virtue, think 



come a souihern man in all my feelings, and it is a part 
of our creed to defend slavery. I had also con-^idered k 
impossible to free the slaves in this couiilry. liut it 
js unnecessary to investigate ihe ground of my former 
opinions. As to the Oolnni/alion rfcjciety, I have thi- 



yon, will have place on such a plantation; and at what 
jioiiod in the hi.-tory of our country w ill ihere degraded 
sons of Africa be chrislianixed under existing circum- 
stances 1 

The ungodlv man who is a slaveholder, is well enough 



any objections, that it has two faces, one f<ir the pleased w illi the elforts and views of the Colonization So- 

cielv, because ho can mair.igc to throw ofl respim.-iljilily, 
and" dale far a-head the lime when he siiall be called upon 
lodori:>ht; but state to hiin ihc seniimenls and princi- 
ples of ihc abolitionisis, and he at once begins to Irolli 
and ragi- — all the malignity of his nalmc is callcdinto ac- 
tion — and why I He feels the prc-s.-ine of responsibility, 
he acts very like an impenitent sinner, pricked with die 
truih, and like him, l"o, he ciiher comes on the side of 
ri:;hl, or is harden-il into a stern opposer. It is gratify- 
ini; to milice the grailual inlhience the aliolilion principles 
arc obtaining over tin- hearts ami consciences of every 
slaveliolding communilj, especially over the hearts ol 
(."nislinn slaveholders." Many ol them who have allowed 
the .-uliject lo have a place in their thoughts, arc greatly 
a;,'ilaled, and dare nut sull cir buy again for their peace' 
uake. Uut mure of this another time.' 



among m 

n()*h, and a vt;iy dilfereiit one for llie south. If the 
agents of the Colonisation Society will come lure and 
eay what 1 heard ihem say in New York, I will insure 
them a guo I coat of tar "and featheis for iheir labor. 
'J'iiat Society lias few friends here, d few large slavehold- 
ers who by it hope to send oil' the free people in iheir 
nei;hl)orh'ood, ami a few others, whose consciences are 
not (juite easy, get a salvo Ly advocating the Colonisation 
Society. These last are many of iliein Minislcrs. The 
mass lif the people regiid it a"s a Yankc:; plan, and hate 
it of course. I remember, aniniig oilier thing's 1 h-ld ihe 
students in my address, that the only way to do away sla- 
very was to give us m ire religion. This argument then 
»eenied to be good. Send us preachers said 1, and as re- 
ligion spreads, slavery will melt away, it cannot .-ilnn Ithc 
g«"spel. I did not reflect that the religion we have here, 
justilies and upholds slavery. Our religion does not per- 
mit the preacher to touch the siil ject. [t is not the whole 
gospel. 1 have nit yet seen the man who would venture 
lo take for his te\t, ' .Masters, give lo your servants that 
which is just and ecpial.' If every man in the country 
was a professor of religion, the relinimi we have, it w.mld 
not much help the'cause. I think ihat I can safely say 
that as a general thing, the I'resbyterians are by far the 

to the religious in- 



1 shall H'lW lay befuic the nieeling the sentiments crf 
General (Jcorge RI'Diiihe, Covernor of the stale ol South 
Carnliiia; as conlained in u m. ss.ige delivered by him t" 
the two branches of ih;; Legi?!aiure, towards the close of 
last vtar. I charge llie<e sentiments upon the slate, 1st, 
liecause the lepresenlalivcs of its citi/ens, in a series ol 
resolutions presented to ihe Governor, unanimously e\- 
best m.isters, and give more attention to the religious in- p.T.^se.i tiie.r special appn.l.aiion of ihein ; ""•' 2-il>. ''e- 
struction of Iheir sLues than others, but I know one of cause I am not aware that any protes has been eiteml 
these, an Elder, who contends that slaveiv is no viol.ition again.-t them by any part of ihe chri.iian cominuni j. 
of the law, ' Thou shall love il.y neighb .r as thyself,' and Senliments mere atrocious were, perhaps, never penned, 
whose slaves are driven in the field with the long whip! The lir.-t extract, rccommemliiig legislation, has refer- 
But it is just to add that tliey are not overworked, and ence to the dilVusion of anli-slavery pulilications. 
thev are well fed and clolhetl. You are at liberty to in- , ,,„ i - mv- i^r-t ii>cn t-rt- nntvinv Til AT TMP 
form the students, and others who heard me on thai occa- ' 1 T I-^^ M\ DELIBER A FE Ol IMON THAI THE 
Bion, that I am now an anti-slavery man; but I do not LAWS OF EVEIIY CO.MMUMTY SllOlI.D I'LN- 
wish ihe letter published wiih my name to it, as it would j^jj tjus Sl'1-CIES OF I.Nl'EUFEUENCE BY 



l;e copied by olher papers, and (iiid its way back and do 
me injury, for no man is free, fully to express his thoughts 
ill this countfy.' 

The next is from a merchant in St. Louis, Missouri, to 
a Clergyman in New llanrishire. 

'S.vi«T Louis, Jan. IS, 1335. 
Very Dear Brother, 

1 want to say a good deal to you. Brother, on the sub- 
ject which seems to interest you inncli at this time. 1 am 
now, and was before 1 left Hartford, an abolitionist; and 
that, too, from deep and thorough conviction that the eter- 
nal rule of right requires tlie imaie;liale freedom of tivery 
bondman in this and evsrv other country. Since my re^i- 



DEATH WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLEKGV, UE- 
GAKDI.NG THE AUTHOUS OF IT AS EiNE.MIES 
TO THE HU.MA.\ RACE. Nothing could be more ap- 
inopriate than for South ("arolina to set this example in 
ihe present crisis, and I lii>st the Legislature will not ad- 
journ till it discharges this high duty of patriotism.' 

Le'. us look at the tlieological views of this profound 
Statesman on the subject of slavery. 

•NO HI'.MAN INSTITUTION, IX MY OPINION, 
IS -MOIIE ^MANIFESTLY CONSISTENT WITH 
THE WILL OF GOD, THAN DOMESTIC SLAVE- 



tlence in this slavehoiding" stale, I have seen nothing which RY, and no one of liis ordinances is written in more leg- 

islionld tern! to alter my previous sentiments on tiiis .sub- ible characters tl'.an that which consigns the African Race 

jecl, on tlie contrary much to confirm nie in them. You, to this condition, AS 3I0RE CONDUCIVETO TliEHl 

who reside in liapin New England, can have b'.it very Q^^^^^ H■^PPINESS, THAN ANY OTHER OF 

faint conceptions of the liilghting and corrupting inluience ...,,' „,, ...p^v AHV «;TT«;rFPTIIU F Wlieiher we 

of slavery on a commuiiiiv. Aliliough in ftlissouri we U HICH I I.C.Y aRu SL&CEPl ILLL. \\lielhLrvvc 

witness slavery in its mildest firm, yet it is enough to consult the sacred Scriptures or the lights of nature and 

sicken the heart ol' lien-ivolenre to wiine.«s its elTecis on reason, we shall find these truths as abundantly apparent 

society generally, and its awfully denioraiizing influence as if written with a sun-beam in the heavens. UndcM- 

on the' slaves themselves; being c'ounted as pvopeiiv among both the Jewish and Chri.-^tian dispensations of our reli- 

ihe .nttle and ilocks of their possessors, (forgive the gion, DO.MESTIO SLAVERY existed with the unequivo- 

.nord,) their standard of raoraiitv and virtue is on a level cal sanction of iti prophets, its afiostles, and finally its 



Fifth Night— Friday— Mr. Thompson. 



75 



great Aullior. The patriarclis themseli'es, I'lnse rliosen 
instrunients of God, were slavchol'lers. In fact tlie di- 
vine sanction of this institution is po plain!}' written that 
' he who runs may read ' it, and tliose over-riglileous |!re- 
tenders and piiaiisees, who afFect to be scandalized Ijv its 
existence amonj]; us, wouhi do well to impiire [row niiicix 
jnorc nearly they walk in the way of Godliness, liian did- 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That the African negro is 
DESTLXED BY PROVIDENCE TO OCCUPY THIS 
CONDITION OF SERVILE DEPENDENCE, is not 
less manifest. It is marked on the fare, stamped on the 
skin, and evinced by the intellectual iiiR-riorily, and nat- 
ui'al improvidence of his lace. Ti'IEV HAVE ALL 
THE QUALITIES THAT FIT THEM FOR SLAVES, 
AND NOT ONE OF THOSE THAT WOULD FIT 
THEM TO BE FREEMEN. They are utterly unqual- 
ified not only for rational freedom, iiut for self-government 
of any kind. They are in ail respects, jilivsical, moral 
and political, inferior to millions of the human race, who 
have for consecutive ages draj^^ed out a wretched exist- 
ence under a grinding political despotism, and who are 
doomed to this hopeless condition l)y tlie very C|iialitie3 
wdiich unfit them for a better. It is utterly astonisiiing 
that any enlightened American, after contemplating all 
the manifold forms in winch even the white race of man- 
kind are doomed to shivery and oppression, should sup- 
pose it possible to reclaim the African from their destiny. 
THE CAPACITY TO ENJOY FREEDOM IS AN 
ATTRIBUTE NOT TO BE COMMUNICATED BY 
HUMAN POWER. IT IS AN ENDOWMENT OF 
GOD, AND ONE OF THE RAREST WHICH IT 
HAS PLEASED HIS INSCRUTABLE WISDOM TO 
BESTOW UPON THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
IT IS CONFERRED AS THE REWARD OF MER- 
IT, and only upon those who are qualified to enjoy it. 
Until the ' Ethio[)ian can change his skin,' it will be vain 
to attempt, by any human power, to make tVeemen of 
those whom God has doomed to be slaves, by all their at- 
tributes. 

Let not, therefore, the misguided and designing inter- 
meddlers who seek to destroy our peace, imagining that 
they are serving the cause of God by practically arraign- 
ing the decrees of his Providence. Indeed it would 
scarcely excite surprise, if with the impious audacity of 
those who projected the tower of Babel, they should at- 
tempt to scale the battlements of Heaven, and remonstrate 
with the God of Wisdom for having put THE MARK 
OF CAIN AND THE CURSE OF HAM upon the Af- 
rican race instead of the European.' 

The Governor then proceeds to give his views on the 
political bearings of the question, and thus sums them 
up:— 

'DOMESTIC SLAVERY, THEREFORE, IN- 
STEAD OF BEING A POLITICAL EVIL, IS THE 
CORNER STONE OF OUR REPUBLICAN EDI- 
FICE. No patriot who justly estimates our privileges, 
will tolerate the idea of emancipation, at any period, 
however remote, or on any conditions of pecuniary advan- 
tage, however favorable. I would as soon think of open- 
ing a negotiation tor selling the liberty of the state at 
once, as Cor making any stipulations for the ultimate eman- 
cipation of our slaves. So deep is my conviction on this 
subject, that if I were doomed to die immediately after 
recording these sentiments, I could say in all sincerity, 
and under all the sanctions of Christianity and patriotism, 
' God FORBin that my pescendants, in the re- 
motest GENERATIONS, SHOULD LITE IN ANY OTHER 



THAN A OOMMUNMTY HAVING THE INSTITUTION OF 

DOMESTIC SLAVERY.' 

The conduct of the clergy of South Carolina may be in" 
ferred from the following account of a great pro-slavery 
meeting, held in the city of Charleston, to denounce in 
the most malignant spirit, the abolitionists of the north: — 

[From the Charleston Courier.] 
GREAT AND IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETING. 

One of the most iniposmg assemblages of citizens in 
respect of numi)ers, intelligence and respectability that 
we have ever witnessed, met yesterday nioriiing at the 
City Hall, to ieceive the report of the Committee of twen- 
ty-one, appointed by the meeting on the -Itii inst., on the 
incendiary tnachinations now in progress against the 
peace and welfare of the Southern states. THE CLER- 
GY OF ALL DENOMINATIONS, ATTENDED IN 
A BODY, LENDING THEIR SANCTION TO THE 
PROCEEDINGS, AND AIDING BY" THEIR PRES- 
ENCE, TO THE IMPRESSIVE CHARACTER OF 
THE SCENE ! 

After tlnindering forth the most violating threats against 
the discussion of the subject of slavery, the meeting clos- 
ed with the following resolution : — 

On motion of Capt. Lynch, 

' Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting are due to 
the reverend gentlemen of the clergy in this city, who 
have so i)romptly, and so effectually responded to public 
sentiment, by suspending their SCHOOLS in which 
the free colored population were taught ; and that this 
meeting deem it a patriotic action worthy of all praise, . 
and ]iroper to be imitated by other teachers of similar 
schools throughout the state ! ! ' 

The following document will speak for itself. 1 com- 
mend it to the consideration ofininisters of Christ through- 
out the world. 

CHARLESTON PRESBYTERY ON SLAVERY. 

Extracts from the minutes of the Charleston Union 
Presbytery, at their meeting on the 7th April, 1836. 

With reference to the relation which the church sus- 
tains to the institution of slavery, and to the possibility of 
attempts to agitate the question in the next General As- 
sembly, this presbytery deem it expedient to state expli- 
citly tiie principles which they maintain, and the course 
which will be pursued by their commissioners in the As- 
sembly. It is a principle which meets the views of this 
body, that slavery as it exists among us, is a political in- 
stitution, with which ecclesiastical judiciatories have not 
the smallest right to interfere, and in relation to which 
any such interlerence, especially at the present moment- 
ous crisis, would be moi-ally ^vrong, and fraught with the 
' most dangerous and pernicious consequences. Should any 
attempt be made to discuss this subject, our commission- 
ers are ejipected to meet it at the very threshold, and of 
any report, memorial, or document, which may be the oc- 
casion of agitating tliis question in any form. And it is 
further expected that our commissioners, should the case 
require it, will distinctly avow a full conviction of the truth 
of the principles which we hold in relation to this sub- 
ject, and our resolute determination to abide by them, 
whatever maybe the issue; that it may appear that the 
sentiments which we maintain, in common with Chris- 
tians at the South, of every denomination, are sentiments 
which so fully approve themselves to our consciences, are 
so identified with our solemn convictions of duty, that we 
should maintain them under any circumstances; and at 
the same time, the peculiar circumstances in which we are 
placed, constitute an imperious necessity that we should 
act in accordance with these principles and make it im- 
possible for U3 to yield any thing, in a matter which coa- 



76 



Fif^h Night — Friday — BIr. Thompson. 




STATES BEFORE OUK ECCLESIASTICAL BODY 
AVAS ORGANIZED. IT IS NOT CONDEMNED 
IN Ol'R CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND HAS 



senililv witli liccomin;^ di^niity— mil willing to l,e associat- 
ed wiili a l)oily of men wlio (k-i)oiiiu:e the iiiinislers and 
members of So'iilluMii cluiiclifs as pirates and men-stcal- 
ers or who co-operate w ith those who tlnis denounce them. 

In coni-Uision, this presbytery woidd siiggc^st to their .^AVAVS EXISTED IN OUR CHURCH WITH 
commissioners the expediency of conferring' with the com- REPROOF OR CONDEMNATION 

missioners from other Southern presbyteries, that there 'Ji^ i ivr.i iv. ^i. i*,^ ^ ^ 

jnay be a common underslandin;; between them as to the \. Slavery is a po • " 

course most suitable to be pursue.l at this crisis, and on Church has nothing I.) _ . 

thi« absorbinn- quesiion. And mav that wisdom which is of master and shne, and to use lawlul and spirunal 

from above, which is f.rst pure, then peaceable, gentle, means lo have all, both bond and free, to become one in 

and casv to 'be entreated, be their guide in managing this Christ by faith. , , „ 

important trust cominitled to their hands. Regarding these positions as imdoubtedly true, our 

Resolved, That this pxpression ofour view.s be signed by views ol duty constrain us to adopt the iollowing lesolu- 
the moderator and clerk— that a copy lie given to each of lions: 
our commissioners to the (Jeneral assembly, anil that it be 
published in the Charleston Observer. 



litical institution, with which the 
lo, excejil to inculcate the duties 



E. T. BUIST, Moderator. 
B. GILDERSLEEVE, Temporary Clerk. 

Resolutions of the Presbyterian Synods of South Caro- 
lina and Georgia — Dec. 1S34. 

' Resolved Unanimously, That in the (.pinion of this 
Synod, Abolition Socictie'ii, and the principles on uhich 
■they are founded in the United States, are iiieoasistent 
with the best interests of the slaves, the rights of the hold- 
ers, and the great principles of our political institutions.' 

The following declaration of sentiments has been pub- 
lished in Charleston, South Car-.lina, l)y the Board of 
Managers of the Missionary Society of the South Caro- 
lina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church :— , rr ■ , /-I 1- r 1 

From the oiTiciai account ol the proceedings ot the 

' We denounce the principles and opinions of the abo- gynod of Virginia, I take the following 
litionists in loto; and do solemnly declare our conviction Pri>npr rw AimiTTiniV 
and belief, that, whether they were originated, as some KEIUIU tJ.N AliUl.1 1 1U1>. 
business men have thought, as a money speculation, or, as 'The commiitce to whom were referred the resolutions, 
some politicians thinkjfor party electioneering purposes, gee., have, according to order, had tiie same under Con- 
or, as we are inclined to believe, in a false philosophy, gjderalion — and respectlully report — That in ihtMr judg- 
overrcaching or setting aside the seriptures through a vain ment, the following resolutions are necessary and proper 
conceit of higher, moral refinement, they are utterly erro- t.^ (je adopted by the Synod at ihe present time. 
iieous, aud altogether hurtful. We consider and believe 



Resolved, That the political institution of domentic 
slavc^rv, as it exists in the South, is not a lawful or con- 
stitutional subject of discussion, much less of action by 
the (ieneral Assembly. 

Resolved, That so soon as the (Jeneral .Assembly pass- 
es any cci lesia.-tical laws, or recommends any action, 
which shall interfere with this institnlion, this Prosby- 
tei v will regard such laws and acts as tyrannical and odious 
— :ind from that moment will regard itself independent of 
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church. 

Resolved, 'i'hatinir delegates to the approaching Assem- 
bly are hereby enjoined to use all christian means to pre- 
vent the discussion of domestic slavery in the Assembly 
— to protest, in our name, against all acts that involve or 
approve abolition — and to withdraw from the Assembly, 
and return home, if, in spite of their eflorts, acts of this 
character shall be passed.' 



that the holy scriptures, so far from giving any counte- 
nance to this delusion, do imeiiiiivocally authorize the re- 
lation of master and slave. We ludd that a christian 
slave must be submissive, faithful, and oliedient for rea- 
sons of the same authority with thtise which oblige hus- 
bands, wives, fathers, moihers, sisters, to fulfil the duties 
of these relations. We would einpFoy no one in the work 
who might hesitate to teach thus; nor can such a one be 
found in the whole number of the preachers in this Con- 
ference.' 

One other docilment in relerence to South Carolina, 
viz., the resolutions recently passed by the ' Hopewell 
Presbvtery.' On the subject of domestic slavery, this 
Presbytery believe the following facts have been most iu- 
controvertibly established, viz : — 

I. vSIavery has existed in the Church of God from the 
time of Abraham to this day. Members of the Church of ment of the Synod, it is the duty of all ministers of the 
God have held slaves bought wiih their money, and born gospel to follow the example of our Lord and Saviour, 
in their houses; and this relation is not only recognized, and of his apostles in similar circumstances, in abstaining 
but its duties are defined clearly, both in the Old and i\evv from all interference with the state of slavery as establish- 
Testaments. ed amongst us by the Commonvvealih, and confining thein- 

II. Emaiicipalion is not mentioned among the duties selves strictly to their proper province of inculcating upon 
of the master to his slave. While obedience ' even to the masters and slaves the duties enjoined upon them respect- 
ifroward master ' is enjoined upon the slave. ively in the sacred scriptures, which must tend iininedi- 

JII. No instance can be produced of an otherwise or- ately to promote the welfare of both, and ultimately lo 



Whereas, The publications and proceedings of certain 
or"ani/ed associations, commonly called anti-slavery or 
abolition societies, which have ari.sen in some parts of our 
land, have greatly disturlied, anil are still greatly disturb- 
in" the peace of the Crburch, and of the country; aud the 
Synod of Virginia deem it a solemn duty which they owe 
to ■themselves audio the conunBnity, to declare their senti- 
ments upon tiie subject ; iherelorc — 

Resolved Unanimously, That we consider the dogma 
fiercely promulgaied by said associations — that slavery as 
it actually exists in our slaveholding states is necessarily 
sinful, and ought to be immediately abolished, and the 
conclusions which naturally lollow from that' dogma, as di- 
rectly and paljiably contrary to the plainest princijiles of 
common sense and coinmoii humanity, and to the clearest 
authority of the word of God. 

Resolved Unanimously, That in the deliberate judg- 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. BreclcinriJge, 



77 



•restore the whole world to thnt stale of iioly happiness 
which is tlic earnest desin- of every christian heart. 

Tiie ahijve preamble and resolutions having heen sever- 
ally read, and adopted by paragraphs, the moderator 
asked and obtained leave, to vote with the Synod on the 
adoption of the entire report. The question being put, it 
was unanimously adopted, every member, it is believed, 
giving a hearty response.' 

The last document I shall ([note on this part of the sub- 
ject is one which will fdl this meeting with horror, but it 
is right that it should be |)la(:e(l on record, to show the 
opinion entertained by a minister of the Presbyierian 
church of his brethren and fellow-christians, and to show, 
also, what kind of comnumications pass current amongst 
the professed disciples ctf Christ in a slaveholding com- 
munity. 

' To the Sessions of the. Presbyterian Congregations 
Within the bounds of the West Hanover Presbytery : 
At the approaching stated meetin^g of our Presbytery, 
I design to offer a preamble and a string of resolutions on 
the subject of the use of wine in the Lord's supper; and 
also a preamble and .1 string of resolutions on the subject 
of the treasonable and abominably wicked interference of 
the Northern and Eastern fanatics with our pcditical and 
civil rights, our property and our domestic concerns. You 
are aware that our clergy, whether with or without rea- 
son, are more suspected by the public than are the clergy 
of other denominations. iS'ow, dear christain brethren, I 
humbly express it as my earnest wish, that you quit your- 
selves likemen. If there be any stray goat of a min- 
ister among us, tainted loiih the bloodhound princi- 
ples of abolitionism, let him be ferreited out, silenced, 
excommunicated, and left to the public to dispose of 
him in other respects. 

Your affectionate brother in the Lord, 

ROBERT N. ANDERSON ' ! ! ! 

I trust I have adduced sufficient evidence upon thi.s 
heart-rending topic, and abundantly proved the allegations 
I have deemed it my duty to bring against the American 
churches. No one can accuse me of wishing that any 
thing should be believed upon my bare assertion. I have 
furnished documentary proof of the truth of all my state- 
ments. Presbyterians, and conferences, and ministers., 
and elders, and synods, and assemblies, have spoken for 
themselves through their solemn and accredited speeches, 
and lettcis, antl reports, and resolutions. Judge, there- 
fore, whether I have libelled America — whether I am the 
foul traducer that some would have you believe, but for 
■believing which they supply you no ground, save their own 
ill-natured vituperations. Let die facts I have brought be- 
fore yon be deliberately consideied, and let such a verdict 
be given as will approve itself to the world arid to (iod. 
Before sitting down, however, I must observe, that it has 
always given me the sjncerest pleasure to notice any anti- 
.slavery movements amongst the clergy of America. With 
delight I have stated the iact, that in the General Assem- 
"bly of 1835, there were FORTY-EIGHT immediate abo- 
litionists. I lefer again, on the present occasion, with 
unfeigned satisfaction to the indications of a better state 
of things in many portions of the Presbyterian church. 
Mr. Breckinridge has quoted the Assembly's views on 
the subject of slavery ; so have L In the recent meeting 
cf the ITnited Secession Synoil, held a short time since in 
Edinburgh, I slated fully the sentiments of the Presbyte- 
rian body in America. At the same time, 1 could not omit 
naming one striking fact, viz., that in 1816, the Assembly 
struck out of the c(mfession of the church the following 
note, adopted in 1794, and which contained the doctrine 
of the church at that period, on thesuljject of slaveholding. 
The note was appended to the one hundretl and foriy-seo- 
■ .-ond questioti of the iarger catechism. 



' 1. Tim. i. 10. The law is made for MAN -STEAL- 
ERS. This crime, among the Jews, exposed the perpe- 
trators of it to capital punishment ; Exodus xxi. 16, and 
the a|)osile here classes them with sinners of the first 
rank. The word he uses, in it.s original import, conipre- 
herids all who are concerned in bringing any of the human 
race into slavery, OR IN RETAINING THEM IN 
IT. Hominum lures, qui servos vel libcros abducnnt, ret- 
inent, vcndunt, vel emiuit. Stealers of men are all those 
who bring o(V slaves or freemen, and KEEP, SELL, OR 
BUY THEM. To steal a freeman, says Grotius, is the 
highest kind of theft. In other instances, we only steal 
human property, but when we steal or retain men in slave- 
ry, we seize those who, in common with ourselves, are 
constituted by the original grant, lords of the earth. Gen- 
esis i. 28. V ide Poll synopsin in loc' 

Why this note has been cancelled, I shall not attempt 
to say. Neither Mr. Breckinridge nor this assembly need 
be at any loss to imagine for what reasons so strong and 
unequivocal a passage was omitted by a body in which so 
large a proportion were slaveholders. 1 have recently 
read, and publicly commended, an address put forth by the- 
Synod of Kentucky, containing a very faithful, though ap- 
pallnig, disclosure of the state of slavery in Kentucky; and 
expressing an earnest hope that the members of the Pres- 
byterian body will, without delay, take steps to promote the 
education and emancipation of the slaves. Let me also 
state that the following ecclesiastical meetings have ])ass- 
ed resolutions, and many of them adopted rules of church 
membership, in accordance with the views of the Ameri- 
can Anti-Slavery Society. Some of them have specially 
approved the principles and measures of that body, t 
beg, while I read this list, to remind Mr. Breckinridge 
that these form a part of that ragged regiment, respecting 
which he was so merry in one of his by-gone speeches. 

SYNODS of Utica and Cincinnati. 
Eastern Sub-Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian^ 
Church. 

PRESBYTERIES of Delaware, Champlain, Erie^ 
Chillicothe, Detroit, and Gennessee. 

General Association of New York. 

Central Evangelical Association. 

Cumberland Baptist Association — Equally divided. 

One Hundred and Eighty-Five Baptist Clergymen. 

The vast majority of the New England and New Hamp- 
shire Conferences of Episcopal Methodists, and a 
large number of individual Churches. 

Thus is the cause advancing ! The purifying leaven is 
extending through all the country. The elements which 
are ordained to redeem America from the pollution and 
infamy of slavery, are working mightily. When I went 
to the United States, I took the principles I found lying 
comparatively forgotten, and proclaimed them abroad. | 
planted myself upon the American Bible, and the Ameri- 
can Declaration of Independence, and preached from these 
that the varied tribes of men are of one blood, and that 
all men should be 'free and equal.' 1 have not labored ia 
vain. There is now a mighty and indomitable host of 
pure and ardent friends to the freedom and elevation of 
the long degraded colored man. Let us thank God, and 
take courage, and expect with confidence the speedy arri- 
val of the happy day, when the soil of America shall be 
untrodden by the foot of a slave. 

Mr. BRECKINRIDGEsaid,he regretted to be obliged 
to say any thing more on this subject, which he had wishr 
ed to consider concluded, so far as he was concerned, at 
the close of his preceding speech. He felt obliged, howr 
ever, by the importance of the whole case, to consume a 
portion of this, his last address — and which he had desir^ 
ed to occupy in a difierent way — in making a few explan» 
ations which seemed indispensable. It would be obser?» 



73 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Bredcinridgc. 



ed, fir.^t, tint tlie great l>iilk of the te.sliinonie.':, produrcl 
tliroiigliout, and t-specially in his last fpei^ch, by Mr. 
I'hoiiipsoii, were iiidiviJi\al opinions and asseirions, of(f>n 
of obscure persons, and thercl'oie, for aus;i;t llie world 
could tell, fictitious persons; or if known persons, they 
were often men of the world, ;;i.d avowe My acting on 
worldly principles, and therefore, no more iil7orling a cri- 
terion of the state of the American cluirclies, than liie im- 
moralities of aiiv public functi iiiary here, could be justly 
made a rule of ju Ignient of the failh and morals of the 
British christians. A considerable portion, also, were 
taken from the transcient and heated (le(damations of vio- 
lent party newspapers, which, wrested from their original 
purpose and connection, mjI:,'!)! mean what never was 
meant, or even, if fiirly collated, expressed wluit their au- 
thors, perhaps, would now gladlv recall. How far would 
it bo proof of the assertions of Mr. T. of .America — if, in 
some other land, somel)ig')t should rpiote, as indisputable, 
Mr. Thompson's story of ilie colored man in Washington 
city, whn.e assertion, at third hand, ll:at he was free, au- 
thorized the declaration, that ' lie hud demonstrated liis 
freedom,' and yet, after all, had been sold into everlast- 
ing slaverv without a trial ! And yel, mafiy of his proofs 
are of no more value to him, than his assertions ought lo 
be to any who come after him. It is next most worthy of 
note, that so far as all his proofs establish any thing 
against either any portion of the .Amei ican nati<;n or the 
American chmxh, they all run upon the as.-iiuiej truth of 
all my explanations, of their real slate and opiM-ation.*. It 
is the slaveholding portion, it is the comparatively small 
body of slaveholding professors of religion, it is the mi- 
riori^tv of the nation, the very small miimrity of the cliris- 
tians'of it, implicated contiimally ; :uid therefore, il every 
word produced were true, the sweeping roncdusions from 
them would be gross fraud on the prevailing ignorance of 
all American alluirs. But what is most important to 
observe, and what must be palpable to the capacity of 
every child wh > has aitcmled to this discussion, the weight- 
iest of ]\lr. 'riiomps'jn's proofs ceased to be proofs at all, 
the moment the facts, cant words, and ciriimistances con- 
nected are explained. He used words in one sense which 
he knows you will understand in another — sporting at 
once with your good feelings and your want of minute in- 
> formation, while all the result is filse as to ns, and unhap- 
py as to every thing conc(!rned, cxcej)t ' OihcUo's occupa- 
tion,' which meanwhile is not gone. \\'hen ilecided and 
perhaps violent terms are used against ' abolition ' or 
'abolitionists,' or anti-slavery, or the 'Ami-Slavery So- 
ciety,' they are adduced to convince you that those who 
use "them are pro-slavery men ; that they understand the 
terms as you do; and that it is an expression of rank 
hostilii y to all emancipation on the part of the American 
tyrants, in whose nostrils, according to this gentleman, the 
slave and freedom equally siiak ! A metaphor neai ly as 
full of truth as decency. The fact, however, is that, al- 
though many would decline the use of such harsh and vin- 
dictive language, which, cauijlit from aljolilionists, has 
been turned against it; yet the bulk of the real sentiments, 
a? brought forward by Mr. Thompson, as proofs of Ameri- 
can salverv, on account of American hr.iiexl lo his peculiar 
jilans, pinciples. and spirit in attempting its removal, are 
true, (HO I, and defensible. -And I am ready to advocate and 
to defend much that he, by a disingenuous citation, has 
made at first odious, and then characteristic of America. 
Thev prove only that he and his cjjadjiitors are most odious 
to tlie country, whi<-h is a fict never denied exceptby him- 
self or them. And to what has the while curVent of his 
testimony teudeil, if not to show that they might reason- 
ably have expected, and did a great deal to deserve such 
a conclusion. But it is n jw impossible to enter again upon 
these matters, and iipoa the case as presented, he was will- 
ing for the World to pass its verdict. While he would, 
therefore, take no furtlier notice of any new matter con- 
tained in the lart speech, there \vere several remarks "ne- 



cessary to be, made, to elucidate subjects that had already 
l)ccn several times before tlu-m. I'he first ca.se was that 
of Amos Dresser, tlie abolitionist whip|)ed at Nashville. 
He would pass over what Mr. '1'. had said relating to his 
(.Mr. U's) notice i>f the discrepancy in the number of elders 
in the Nashville church. He had trehled that genlleiii-.in 
with great candor in t!ie matter, which he had returned 
wiih incix ility ami injustice, and there he was content to 
let it rot. But how stood the lads of the case itself I 
Amos Dresser is reported to have said that there were seven 
elders of ihc church; that all of then) were on the Commit- 
tee of vigil, nice of Nashville; that most of them were 
among his iriersj and that some of them had administered 
the <'oiiimnnion to him the preceding Sabbalh. Now let 
us admit that (his is literally true — (which 1 believe, how- 
ever, is not the case, in at least three particulars,) — how 
does it justify Mr. 'J'hompson, in asserting as he did at 
London and elsewhere, ' that on that Lyiuh Committee 
i!i(re sat seven Elders ar}doncMiHiiiicr,someofifhur,i 
harl sat with the young man at the Table of the Lord on 
the preceding Sunday?' Jlr. Thompsim positively coii- 
triidicts his own and only witness, when he says that 
all the se^cn elders sat as triers; — he enlarges his 
testimony when he insinuates that they not only con- 
curred in his punishinent, but were present and active 
in its infliction; and he infers wiiliout the least au- 
thority, and add* it to the words of ihe xsiiness, that 
those very elders who administereil the Lord's Supper 
lo Dresser on Sunday — ' plowed up his back ' — as Ljiich 
Committee men on a subsecpieut day of the same week. 
Now, in the name <•{ common honesty, is such deceitful 
handling of (he Iriilh to be tolerated in a chrisiiaii 
Community I Oh ! what a speclatde would we behold — 
if I had but the privilege, lielore some coinpeient tri- 
biiii il — to take the publishe>l accusations of this man 
in my ImikIs and force him to reveal, on oalh, the 
whole grounds on which he makes them ! Mr. IJ. then 
stated that afier litr enteriHl the liou.«e to-night, Iwr) 
packages had been |)ut into his hands, which he could 
not examine then, as he was just about to open the dis- 
cussion, lie harl snatched a moment dining the interval 
to glance his eye over their content.'", and considered it 
his tliity to say a lew words in reference to each. 
One of them was a little volume fioni the pen of 
Dr. Channing, of Bciston, on the subject of slavery, 
just passing through the press of an enterprising book- 
seller of tilasgow, who had done him the favor of 
presenting to liiin, in very kind terms, the first copy of 
the edition. 'I'liev who wonlil take the trouble of look- 
ing oier^the printed report of Mr. Thompson's second 
addre.BS to the Glasgow Einancipati<in Society, would 
find that, in speakii.g of the Unitarians in America, he 
had used the following language: — 'One of their greatest 
men, a giant in iiiielkret, had already taken ihe right view 
of the subject, and ilirre could not exist a doubt that ere 
long, he would bring over the body to the good cause.' 
In this sentence, as it stands in the speech, at the end of 
the words ' giant in iniellect, — stands a star, — at the bot- 
tom of the page another, before the words ' Dr. Channing.' 
Now -it so ha|>pciis that in this Utile book, there is a chap- 
ter headed ' AJnJiiioni.sm.' I have looked through it 
casually, within the List hour; and I beseech you all to 
read it carefully, and- judge for yourselves, of the utter 
recklessness w'lh which iiir. Thompson makes assertions. 
The other parcel, contained a letter from an American 
gentleman residing in' Britain, and one half of the New 
Vork Spectator, of October 1, 1835. Under the head of 
editorial correspondence, is an article above a column and 
a half ilk length devoted in great part to Mr. 'I'hompsoii. 
Amongst other passages, it tidverts to his doings at Ando- 
ver, and the charges made against him there, on such 
weighty authority; and in that connection has the follow- 
ing explicit paragraph: — 

•■ Mr. Thompson in conversation with some of the siu- 



Fifth Niglit- 



-Friday — Mr. ThomjJion. 



79 



clciiis, repeatedlv r.verrod tliat everv slavolioUler in ilie 
Uniied Slates OUCMT TO HAVE HKS THROAT 
CUT; or DKSERVED TO HAVE HIS 'JHROAT 
CUT; allhoiifih ho nderwaicis publicly deiiied ilial he liati 
said so. Bui ihe proof is direct and posiiive. Jn coii- 
versalion wiili one of the iheolofjical students in rfgard to 
the moral instruction which ous'il to bo pnioved by the 
shnos, he disiinctiv dcclaied THAT EVERY SEAVE 
SHOULD JiE TAUGHT TO CUT H!S MASTER'S 
THROAT '. I stale llie fact — knowing Iho responsibility 
1 am assuming, and chalipnge a legal iuvesligaiion.' 

Oil this tremendous document, I make Iiut two remarks. 
The fi|ist is that Fianois Hall & Co. the publishers of the 
Spectator, were in character and fortiuiO, perfectly re- 
sponsible to 3Ir. Thompson. The second is, tliat if Mr. 
Thompson's rule of judgment was just, in that branch of 
this same case — in the exercise of wliitli lu; declared that 
another paper in New York could never begot to publish 
his ex(adp.atory certificates in regard to this vjry transac- 
tion, 6cca«sc the publisher knew them- to be true; then 
we are irresistibly bound on his own showing to conject- 
ure, that for the same reason he declined taking up the 
challenge of the Spectator. There was only one more 
topic on which he seemed called on to remark; and that 
he had several times passetl over, out of considerations of 
delicacy. It had all along been his aim to use as little 
freedom as possible with the names of individuals — and 
he could declare, that he had implicated by name, no one 
except out ol absoluic necessity — that he Irad forebonie to 
say true but severe things of several who had been most 
unjustly con)mended during this discussion — and had omit- 
ted of the very few he hud censured by nR!r.e,-'dccidedly 
worse things, than those he hau uttered of them — and 
which he might have uttered both truly and pertinently. 
Amongst the cases of rather peculiar fcnbearance, was the 
oft ciled one, of a misguided young, man, by the nuiiie of 
Thome, who ivent from Kentucky to New York to repeat 
a niojit audacious s|)eech, which v>as no doubt prepared 
for him, before an assembly literally the mosi mixed il.i.t 
wa.-j ever convened in that city: having •leli\(ie(l which, 
he departed with the pity or contempt of 9-lUihs of all the 
decent people in it, and went I know not whither, and 
dwells I know not where. The victory as there trumpet- 
ed, and now celebrated, of which he was a part gainer, 
consisted of two portions — the destruction of the coloniza- 
tion cause — and the degradation of ICcnIucky, his native 
state. 'J'he ilcath <jf the Society was signalised by a sub- 
scription of six thousand dollars on the jjartof its iViends; 
and the inl'amy of Kentucky was illustiated by the ready 
stepping f(;ruard of four ol her sons to confrcmt and con- 
found the ingrate who commenced his career of manhood 
by sniiling his parent in the face, Vi'lio ma<le the de- 
l;n(e, may be surmised from Mr. Thompson's bitterness — 
I will not trust myself to repeat his name. But this 
thousands can testify — that never was a> great cauSe more 
signally successful — never was folly and wickedness more 
thoroughly beaten into the dust — never did any commimity 
heap more cordial and unanimous apjjlause upon an efiort 
of great and sucees.-fu! eloquence. 

And now. Sir, (said Mr. B., addressing Dr. Vv'ardiaw, 
the Chaiiman of the meeting) — i repeat the expressions 
of my reg.at, that these last moments allowed to me 
sliouki have been reipiired for any other purpose than that 
which so sacredly belonged to them. Exhausted by a se- 
ries of most exciting, and to me perfectly new conten- 
tions, 1 am aliogelher unequal to the task, which I should 
yet esteem m_\seif degraded if I did not attempt in some 
way to perfoim. 

'I'o this large committee which has so kindly taken up 
this subject — so considerately provided fur every contirj- 
l^ency — so delicately considered all my wishes,' and even 
all my weaknesses — to these respected gentlemen sur- 
rounding us upon this platform, whose conduct amid very 
jjeculiar circumstances, has been towards use, full of can- 



dor, honor, courtesy and christian kindness, it would have 
been most gross ingraliliide, to have foi borne this public 
expression of my regard and cordial thanks. 

For yourself. Sir, what can I say more, or hov; could I 
say less, than that in that distant country, which 1 love but 
too fondly, iheie are scores, there are hundreds, who 
would estedu all the trials through which this striie has 
led me, and all the weight (d responsibility which my 
posture has forced me to assmiu — more than counter-bal- 
anced l>y the privilege of loiiking upon )our venerated- 
face. It is good to live for the whole world — and it i» 
but just to receive in recompense the world's thanks. 

And you, my respected auditors, whose patience 1 must; 
needs have so seveiely taxed, and who have borne with 
much that possibly has tried yon deeply, you who have 
given me so many reasons to thank )ou, and not one to 
regret the errand that brought ii.e here; if in the course 
of providence, you or yours — should be thrown on what- 
ever spot my resting place may be, you need but say ' I 
come iVom Glasgr.vv, and I need a iriend,' and it shall go 
hard with me but 1 will find a way to prove, -that kind- 
ness is never thrown away. 

But e\en as we part let us not forget that case which 
has chained us here so long. We are free. Alas ! how 
few can utter these words w ith truth ! We are Christian 
men. Alas ! What multitudes have never heard our 
inafier's name ! Oh ! hovv horrible mu.-t slavery be, 
wliei! God hiniself illustrates the jiower of sin by calling 
it its bondage ! Oh! how sweet should union with Christ 
be ihought, when he proclaims it glorious liberty ! Free- 
duin and redemption are in our hands — the heritage in 
trust for a lust world. It is not then our own souls only, 
but (jur divine Lord, and our dying brethren, that we sin 
against and rol>,^when we mismanage or pervert this great 
inheritance. Vv'e needs must labor; but let us do it 
wisely. And though we may difiler in many things — in 
this at least we can agree, to importune our Heavenly 
Father to prosper by his constant blessing what we do 
aright, and overrule by his continual care all that we do 
amiss. (Cheers.) 

Mr.. THOMPSON then rose amidst much cheering, 
and said— Sir, aftf r the valedictory address to which we 
have just listenecl, it would ill become me to touch upon 
any topic calculated to disturb feelings which 1 trust and 
believe that address has awakened in the breasts of this 
assembly. Sir, it is my conviction, that I and those with 
whom it is my joy and honor to act in the advancement 
of the cause of Universal Emancipation, are much mis- 
understood. We are represented as the violent, -tcrimo- 
nious, ferocious and sanguinary foes of the slavo older; 
when, if he could look into our inmost hearts, he would 
discover no enmity to him abiding there, but on the con- 
trary, an earnest desire to promote his safety, his honor 
and his happiness. If »ve act as we do, it is net that we 
love him less, but that n^e love truth and freedom more. 
It is not with us a matter of choice that we pursue our 
present course, but one of stern, imperative duty ; — be- 
cause we believe that God will vouchsafe his blessing 
oiilv to those who preach the doctrme of an immediate, 
entire, and uncompromising discharge of duty, leaving to 
Him the coiisecuiencts flowing from obedience to His 
law. To discover truth wherever it is hidden shoiHd be 
the aim ami eflort of every rational mind. It has been 
my desire to arrive at truth upon the great question of 
slavery ; iind after much invi s. igation, and many con- 
flicts,! have reached the cor.ckision, that slaveholding is 
sinful; that man cannot hold properly in man; that to do 
right, and to do it now, fearless of results, is the doctrine 
of the Bible ; and that a .«imple and strict compliance with 
the Divine Law, is man's noblest and safest course. 
These being my, settled views, I say to the slaveholder — 
give iniir.ediale freedom to your slaves. To the non- 
slaveholder, I say— preach a pure doctrine— grapple witl» 



80 



Fifth Night — Friday — Mr. Thomj^son, 



tlie nreiudices and fears of (he community around yon— IhU I liave not yet peon the wisdom, the ardor, the hu- 



lis, and create a 



anity, or the faith of tlie abolitionists of America ex- 
cccdpd. 

Another word and I have done. It is for one whom I 
lo\e as a l)rolher, and to whom my sonl is nnited by a 
bond which death cannot dissolve; of one, who, though 
still Nonng, has for ten years toiled with nnremitting ardor 



strive to raise the lone of piddic mora 
public sentiment unfavorable to the coiitiiniance ol slave- 
ry. To the private Christian, I sa\ — betake yourself to 
prayer, and the study of the scriptures ; and invoke a 
blessing upon every righteous instrumiMitality f>r the over- 
throw of the abomination. To the INlinister of the Gos- ,-.",,,..• , • , -^ i 
pel I sav— be bold for (iod ; cry aloud, and spare not, nnd imimpeached disinterestedness in the cause of the 
till 'the merchants of the earth ce;\se to make merchandise bleeding slave; of one, who, though accused of scaltennjj 
of slaves, and the souls of men. :'i'..ii.d him fire-brands, arrows and death :— though brand- 
Much fault is found with our measures. What, Sir, ed as a madman, an iiicendiarj-, and a fanatic; though 
are our measures, but the simplest means of making denounced by the state, and rexiled by a jx.rtion ot the 
known our principles'! Having deliberately and prayer- church— po.^sesses a soul as peacelul and as iime as ever 
fully adopted certain views, we take the ordinary, com- tenanted our fallen nature. I speak not to exalt him or 
ion sense every day methods of making those views gratify his love of praise. I know he seeks not the hon- 
nown, and of recommending them to the adoption of oth- or that cometh from man, nor the riches that perish in 
Believin" slavery to be sin, is it strange that we the using. He looks not for his reward on earth. W iih 



k 

crs. 



hate, and speak strongly respecting il 1 Believing immc- the approbation nf Ins conscience he is content— vyiih the 
diate emancipation a ciutu, is it strange that wo pray, ble.-sing of the perishing he js rich— with the lavor of 



ipUtiLrii Li- I*, in//)* nil.*- p)" i •■' .1'-'. 11' \ J- ''' «i I .1 

and preach and print about it ? That we take all peace- t.od he is bles.scd forever. He seeks no monumental 
ftil means of making known the great truth; of warning marble— no funeral oration— no proud escutcheon— no 
men aoain-^t the dan'>er of delav, and exhorting them to partial page of history to perpetuate his name. He knows 
'^ " "■ that when resting from his labor the tears of an enlran- 

cliised race 



repentance'? The abolitionists have done no more. To 
have done less, would have been to prove tliPinselves un- 
faithful to the high and heaven born principles they pro- 
fess. They court investigation. They scatter their pub- 
Jications on the winds to be'read by all. They have not 
an ollice nor a book that is not open to the inspection of 
all. Their language to all who suspect their motives or 
their designs is, ' search us, anil know our hearts; try us, 
and know our thoughts; and see if there be any wicked 
way in us.' If in the ardor of their zeal, and inheriting 



Shall sprinkle the cold dust in which ho sleeps, 
I'omplcss, and from a scornful worlil withdrawn; 
The laurel, which its malice rent shall shoot. 
So watered into life, and mantling throw 
Its verdant honors o'er his grassy tomb. 

That man is William Lloyd Garrison. Sir, I thank God 
for having given him to the age and country in wiiich he 



infirmities, and surrounded by influences, from which none lives, lie is a man pre-eminently (|uali(ied for the mighty 
of us arc exempt, they solnetimes apply epithets and work in which he has engaged. iMay the CJod of the op- 
bring charges witli too little discrimination, something pressed bless him, and keep him humble, and cheer him 
should l)e liardoned to the spirit of liberty ; something onwards in his rugged path ! May his lion heart never be 
granted to the advocate of outraged humanity — to those, subdued ! M.iy Ids cloi|uent pen never cease to move 
who, remembering them that arc in bonds as bound with «liilc a slave bVeathes to re<|uire its advocacy ! Heaven 
them, plead as for mothers, children, sisters and brothers grant, and I can ask no more, that the wish of his heart 

at present lost to all the joys and purposes of life, may be fulfilled ; and that the lime may soon come, when. 

Sir, I think it hard that on all occasions like these, the looking abroad over his beloved country with the soul of 
heaviest artillery should be levelled against the abolition- ^ Patriot, and the eye of a Fhilanthropist and a Chris- 
ist, and the small arms only directed against the slave- tian, he shall not be' able to discover instate, or city, or 
holder. I call upon thn.=e who act with such gentleness town, or hamlet, a lingering trace of a tyrant or a slave ! 
towards the latter individual ;— who arc so fearlul of do- 1 shall not. Sir, attempt (turning to the Chairman) to 
ing him injustice and so ready to discover in him any thing express the feelings of my heart towards you, or my opin- 
that is amiable in character, or extenuating in conduct, to joi, ^f the manner in «liich you have discharged the du- 
exercise some small portion of the same candor and kind- ties of the Chair, through four of the evenings of this dis- 
ness, and consideration towards the former. Letnot</mi cussion. I cordially unite with the gentleman opposite in 
man be most hateful in their eyes, who of all others is thanking you for the dignity and strict impartiality with 
most earnestly engaged for the deliverance of the slave. which you have borne yourself. I know you look for the 
A word before we i)art, (or my honored co-adjutors on rewArd of your labors of love in another and a better 
the other side of the Atlantic. ' Should this be the last world. In "that world may we all meet ! There our jara 
address of mine ever delivered and recorded for perusal and discords will be at an end. There we shall see, eye 
when I am gone to give account of my sayings upon earth, to eye; and know, even as we are known. There, in the 
I can with every feeling of sincerity aver, that to the best presence of one Saviour — our joys, our voices, our occu- 
bf my knowledge and belief, there is not to be found on paiions will be one ; and there 1 trust that we, who have 
the face of the^earth at the picsent lime engaged in any been antagonists on earth, will together iiieet, and cele- 
reli^ious or benevolent enterjirise, a body of men more brate the glories of a common redemption from the sor- 
pure in their motives, more simple and elevated in their rows and the sins of earth. (Mr. Thompson resumed his 
aim, more dependent upon divine aid in their efforts, or, seat amidst loud and long continued cheers.) 
generally speaking, more unexceptionable in their meas- 
ures, than the immediate abolitionists of the United 5Ir. THOMPSON moved that the cordial thanks of 
States of America. It has been my high privilege to the meeting be given to the Rev. Dr. Wardlaw, for his 
mingle much with devoted christians of all denominaliona nble, digndied, and impartial conduct in the chair, and 
in niy native land, and to enjoy the friendship of some of also to Dr. Kidston, who presided on Thursday evening, 
the noblest and most laborious of living philanthropists, ^^hich was carried by acclamation. 



PUBLIC MEETING IN GLASGOW WITH REFERENCE TO THE 

DISCUSSION. 



M BLIC MEEThNG OF THE GLASGOW EMAN- 
CIPATION SOCIETY. 

[The Cominiltce of tlie Ghisgow Emancipation Society 
dill nut feel tlicm.-iolvo.s nt lilieity to givi', ;it ;in earlier 
jieriocl after the late iliscii.<sion hctween Mv. Tlioinpson 
Hnd Mr. Bre< ixinridge, any public declaration of their 
judgement relative to the merits and results of that dis- 
<:ussion, in as far as the cliaracter and conduct of the 
fi)riner of these two gentlemen «ere implicated. In the 
spirit of one of the conditions of the discussion, namely, 
tliat no vote should he taken at the close expressive of I he 
mind of ihe audience, they delayed convening a pnhlic 
ineetin-T, for the purpose of expressing their own judguK-nt, 
and calling for the concnrjencc of iluir fellow citizens, 
till some time had licen allowed for the circulation anil 
perusal of the controversy, as issuerl from the press. They 
now, however, consider it incuinhent upon ihem, — a duly 
they owe to Mr. Thompson as their known and accredited 
Agent, and a duly wliich they owe t(j themselves and oth- 
ers by whom he was engaged and commissioned — to give 
publicity to their sentiments: — an<l it is to their minds a 
source of no small satisfaction, that, judging coolly and 
deliberately, they can jironounce a verdict favorable, in 
all respects, to their esteemed Agent and friend, without 
hesitation and without leserve. For the toiins of that 
verdict, they refer to the fust of the resolutions passed at 
the meeting of which an account follows. That resoln- 
li<jii was moved and seconded by the two ministers of the 
gospel, Vice Presidents of the Society, by whom the chair 
was filled during the discussion ; by one of tlK-m at four, 
and by the other at one of the meetings. While these 
gentlemen felt it their duty to maintain the strictest im- 
partiality, in presiding on such an occason, by withhold- 
ing every indication of their own opinions, and showing 
ecpial favor to each of the combata;its, they are now ex- 
onenUed from official restrictions, and entitled, in com- 
mon with others, to avow their judgment.] 



Oil IMonday night,* a public meeting of the members 
and friends of the Glasgow Emancipation .Society was held 
ill the Ilev. Dr. Heugh's Ciiapel, fir the purpose of ex- 
pressing the sentiments of the Society in reference to the 
recent discussion on American Slavery, so far as Mr. 
Thompson is concerned ; their approbation of his conduct 
in the United Slates ; their unabated conlidence in hiin as 
tlieir Agent; and their unalterable attachment to the great 
principle of inunediate, unconditional, and universal 
emancipation. 

Shortly after seven o'clock, the jdacc of meeting was 
filled with a numerous and liinhly respectable audience. 
About half-past seven the Connnittec entered the chapel, 
and were received with cheers. 

On the motion of the Rev. Mr. M'TE.VR, Robert 
Graham, Estj., of Whitehill, was called to tlio Ciiair by 
acclamation. 

The CHAIRMAN having briefly stated the object of 
the meeting. 



Aii?usi 1, IB3t;. 



The Ricv. Dr. WARHI.AW said,— Mr. Ci.airman,-. 
La;iies and (ientlemen — IJefore I iiroceed to move the re- 
solution which I hold in my hand, iillow me to congratu- 
late the meeting on the cheering recollections whicli this 
evening brings along with it; recollections which ought to 
draw forth the utieiance of benevolent joy and of devout 
gratitude from every British bosom. It is" the first (jf Au- 
gust. And who does not recollect the animation with 
which the friends and ndvocates of freedom hailed, two 
years ago, the arrival of this day— the day on which the 
edict of the gincrnment took cflcct for the emancipation, 
from the yoke of degrading and wretched bondage, of 
800,000 of the colored population of our colonial depen- 
dencies ? SVe hailed the day as the British .lubilee, when 
the trumpet which ' proclaiined the liberty of the captives' 
was sounded far and wide, through the whole extent of 
Britain's dominions. There were drawbacks, it is true. 
The boon was not so perfect as we had wished it. 'J'he 
jilierty granted was trammelletl by the expedients of a tim- 
id policy— a policy which experience, so far from justify- 
ing, has abimdantiy proved unsound; giving an additional 
evidence to the thousands whicli all history furnishes, — 
that when we liave once demonstrated a principle to be 
correct — to be in accordance with the will of (iod, and 
the inalienable rights id" men, our safest way is to keep a 
firm grasp of that principle, and to act it out with a fear- 
less leliauce on tlial Being by whom it is sanctioned and 
enjoined. The straight forward path of duty will always 
he found the palh of ultimate security. I do not mean by 
this, that it was at all an indispensable evidence of the 
rectitude of our principle, when we were seeking tiie 
immediate eniancipalion of the slaves in our colonies, that 
the act of emancipation should be followed either by none of 
those dislurbaiiees (to give them their gentlest designation,) 
which the opponents of our measure dreaded, or aUecteti 
to dread, or by none of those fatal effects to property and 
produce which were also so confidently and gloomily pre- 
dicted. No, Mr. Chairman, for my own part I should"not 
have been shaken from my conviction of the rectitude and 
divine authority of the principle, had all, or even more 
than all of the evils anticipated l)y those woe-denouncin"- 
pro|)hcts been realized. I sliouldhave regarded them as 
indications of the diviiH! displeasure against past oppres- 
sion, and of the injurious workings of tliat detested system 
of which the native tendencies were, to foster all the worst 
jiassions of the human heart, and to set men who had been 
long and grievously wronged against those by whom their 
wrongs had been inflicted. But, thanks to Hfaven, God 
lias been more kind, and the oppressed negro has been 
more patient and forbearing, than such anticipations im- 
plied. On the first of August, 18o4, 1 did seem to myself 
as I heard the voice of Him who rules among the nations, 
saying to my country — ' J\!y own, my native land ' — ' From 
this day will I bless thee ! ' And my hope has not been 
blasted. Without touching on any (|uestions, respecting 
which, what is one man's grief may be another'sioy, I pre- 
sume I may say with truth, that, in a mercantile point of 
view, the country was never in a more prosperous con- 
dition; and I presume my West India friends themselves 
will not coiilradict me, when I further say, that even the 
colonics are holding out a fairer |)romise than for many a 
day befoie. Sir, v.hile we wrought for the freedom of the 
negro, under the influence of those principles of justice. 



2 



Public Meeting in Glasgoiv iciih reference to the Discussion. 



anJ luimnnitv, an'! religion, wliicli are iiiiclnngiiicr as the 
iiatnre of Go'd, and v;ir_v not witli time, or pl.ux-, or cir- 
cumstances, yet we wrouglu, at the same tunc, in liio full 
conviction that our West Inilia frientis, in «pi>o.-:ing iis, 
were standinfj in their own lij;iit, and ar^'nni;,' an. I con- 
tending against liieir own interestt:. Tiiey alleged that 
we were doing what lay in onr power to ruin them; we 
felt the full as.snranee that they would find ihem.selve.s mis- 
t.,|^Pi,_ll,at they would reap' benefit rallu^r ihan injury, 
nrolit rather than loss, 'i'hey alleged that wc were fcek- 
ni)4 to drive upon fatal rocks the distreifsed and mhimtiI- 
Icd vessel, and to ensure her shipwreck with ll:e loss of 
cargo, and of all hands on hoard. We saw tl!« 1 ihoring 
i^hip already water-logged, on her hcain ends, and ready to 
founder J and our efVoris were directed, not to send her 
down, hut to riglit the vessel, to save cargo and crew, and 
to give her a safe and prosperous run for the rcumindcr of 
her voyage. We felt coiilident that we were taking the 
right way to cflect this ; and so far as two ycar.s' experi- 
ence has gone, wc can appeal to our opponents whether 
we have not licen in the right. 

And, Mr. Chairman, had we got all our own way, wc 
should have proved still more in the right. The full l>en- 
efit of our labors in the cause, has been prevented by the 
clumsy, though it may be granted, well inU'iitioncd mea- 
sure of apprenticeship ; a nie.isure which, ulule it took 
the letters but half— if so much as half— olf the hapless 
Blave, imposed bonds ujion the beiielieial wnrUing ol^ iIm; 
true principles of emancipation. We have both positive 
and negative proof of this. We have positive proof of 
the correctness of our ))rinciplp3 and ralculatinns in the 
onlv two instances in which the gift of lib('\ly has been 
freely and fully bestowed — in the Islands cf Antigua and 
Bermuda; and we have this positive proof supported by 
the negative of the same peace, and concord, and h:!ppi- 
ness, and productiveness, (the fault, howe\er, not of the 
licro, but of those who have taken ailvantagc ofllie |)ower 
which his new position still gave to his masters,) wlwrc 
the measure has been clogged and embarrassed by the vain 
devices of human expediency, and the precautions of an un- 
founded apprehcnsivcness. ' Sir, 1 cannot but anticipate 
the day when the irritations of the past havieg been soft- 
ened down — the asperities of conlroveisy haying been 
abated by lime, wc shall <il)laii) in lieu of ll>e frowns ami 
maledictions, the smile.*, and thanks, and blessings (il our 
West India friends. You m ly ihink, perhaps, sir, that 
they will never have grace to thank us. Well, it may be 
a little agaiiwt llw grain, but we slrall see: it is not time 
yet. As it was not for their thanks that we wrought, we 
tiliall nut feel much billurue.ss of di.sappoiiumcnt, should 
we fail of obtaining them. We shall try to rejoice in their 
[)rospcrily, whether 'hey thank us for it or not. 

1 bless God, Mr. Cha'irm.iii, for the degree in which our 
cause has triumphed. I'lUt, while we do not forget our ob- 
ligations to Divine I'rovitlenee, neither must we overlook 
the human instruments employed by that I'roviilenre in the 
attainment of the end. And this evsniiig wc have to ex- 
press our obligations to one of these. It has been by the 
combiiie<l, earnest, persevering voice of public ojjinion re- 
iloratiiig in the ears of our government — aot on the ground 
of mere political expediency, Init on the higher and more 
sacred ground of moral and christian principle — the de- 
mand for the breaking of the yoke of the oppressed, and 
the raising of the enslaved and degraded, to the dignity of 
men, and to the rights and the privileges of iVeeinen, that 
our cause has triumi)hed. We owe not a little, then, to 
those friends of that cause, who have contriljuted to en- 
lighten and enliven the public miiul — to gi\e it a just im- 
pression of wrong, and a clear perception of right — to 
rouse its indignation against ilie one — and (ix its benevo- 
lence in the resolute detiTUiination to efleet the other. 
And amongst those to whom, on this ground, obligation 
ought to be felt and expressed by usj the subject of the re- 
solution I am about to propose to yon, holils no inferior 



place. He exerted a power over the public :iiind of ni 
ordinary amount. Il(! brought up the cause in our own 
city, when il had long languished for want of adequate 
stimulation. He put new life into it ; and he kept that lile 
in vigor till the conquest was ac:l)ie\ed. Wc shall not 
soon Inrget the triumphant result of his controversy, main- 
tained in ihisonr cilv, hand to hand, foot to foot, with the 
phalanx of the colonial inter(>st — headed at that time by 
their own chosen champion — but a champion whom, for 
their own sakes, I forbear to name — as I believe they arc 
all as much ashamed of him as we could wish tlicin to be. 
With the ability, the zeal, the cloiinonco, the energy, the 
steadfastness of principle, the exhausting and indefatiga- 
ble perseverance of our champion, we were more than .sat- 
isfied. We expressed our satisfaction ; and wc expresse.l 
it not in words merely, but practically. The most decid- 
ed and flattering proof that can be given of satisfactiou 
with an agent whom we have employed in one work, is to 
set him to another. We di<l so. lie had done his duty 
so nobly in the home de|)arlnient of the great cause he had 
at heart, that, when we had achieved our object in the 
discnlhralmenl of the slaves in our own dependencies, and 
we looked abroad upon the world (nv other fiel Is of pliil- 
anthrophic efTort, we naturally and imaniinonsly turne 1 
our eves to him, believing lliat he who had done so well 
at home, would do ei|ually well abroad. 

Sir, when we beg. to with <mr own columns, wc never 
meant to stop there. That was not the limit of our de- 
sires, or of our determinations. Our (iel I was the world. 
Our object was universal freedom; the breaking of every 
y„kc — the deliverance ofllie op{>ic5.sC(l in 'every kindred, 
and tongue, and people, and nation.' And in contemplating 
this compiclicnsive object, whither was il to be expected 
we should first [ook 1 Whilhfr but to .America 1 I'lierc, 
there existed the greatest amount of the accm?cd evil, whose 
e-termination w« desiretl: and, in that country, both as 
Hritons and as Christians, we conli not (nit feel a special 
interest. There was no unwarrantable interference. It 
is always warrantable — it is nwre, it is morally incum- 
licnt — for fell'-w-mtn, if they have oppoitimily, to expos- 
tul.ilc with fellow-men — for fellow-christi.ins to exixisln- 
latc with fellow-christians — when they see evils existing, 
of which all the principles of justice, humanity, and re- 
ligion, demand the extirpation. There are mj considera- 
tions of international delicacy and eti'iuelte that can justify 
connivance at sin on the part of those who have aught 
whatever in their power to accomplish its removal. If 
we fail to bring this power, whatever it may be, into op- 
eration, we become socii caiiiinis, partners in the gnill. 
On this principle, if our American brethren saw any thing 
in us, which they thought, ;md justly ihouglit was an evil 
of sufficient magnitude to induce their kind offices for ita 
suppression, we ought to fi;el obliged by their using their 
enileavors to stir us up to a due consideration of it, audio 
practical ellorts for its removal. On llie ground, then, 
the broad ground of universal phihmthropy, which all<nvs 
no man to say, 'Ami n-vy brother's keeper 1 ' we limked 
to America. On the ground of the Trans-Ailantic Stales 
owing theirorigin to Britain, and being kindred blood with 
our.«elvc?, wc looked to America. On the ground of their 
having derived their very slavery from us, and having had 
it fosrercd bv our example, wc "looked to America. And 
wliei; thus, iii common with our brethren in the Northern 
and Southern Metropcdis, we looked to America, and re- 
solved on a mission of benevolence to that laud, all eyes 
simultaneously looked to George Thompson, as the man, 
of all others most eminently lilted for ihe chat ge of the 
^in\)iortant and diificiilt trust' We sent him to America. 
V>'e sent him, however, be it remembered, in accordance 
with invitjuions received by himself from associated friends 
in the same cause on that side of the Atlantic. Not that 
such invitation was necessary to jiistifv his mission. It 
was not. lie might have gone from us without any inti- 
mation of their w ishcs. \\c do not wait till the heathen 



Public Meeting in G!(i:<goic with reference to (he Jyisciission 



snml to us for iiii.<fionario.5. We soiiil tlicm uiiiinitpl. 
On the t::iine principle might w(! liavc sent our ;inl.i-s!;i\ery 
iiiissioiKiiy. l^iit it was lietter, and it was providcMitial 
that, whifi! wo wcic ios(>l\ ins; to scml, liiey asl\0(l hi;n to 
coine. IIo went. H-,! went wilii tiie best wishes of the 
bcnevolonl, an'! the ftMYcnt piaycra of the pions. lie ro- 
iiiaineci in the faithful, laborious and perilous execution of 
the commission entrusted to liiiu, as lon^ as it could be 
done without the actual sacrifice of life — till it would have 
been the insanitv of hardihood to have persisted longer. 
lie returned. We hailed his arrival. We privately and 
publicly teslilicil our approbation of ihe course; he had 
) ursucd. The present question is — are we now prepared 
to retract that approbation "? Ila.s the orileal through which 
our friend and commissioned agent has recently passed, 
altered our niintis, and disposed us to substitute for it a 
sentence of condemnation 1 Aie we now n.'ady to cashier 
liim, — to censure liim, — to send him to Coventry, — to de- 
prive him of his coiumission, and declare him disqualified 
for ever holding mother, unworthy of all future service 1 
I ex|)ress my own judgment in the shortest of all mono- 
syllables: I say, No; and iho residution which 1 holil in 
my hand, calls upon you to say No. I consider the recent 
controversy as having yielded only fresh ground for confi- 
dence; as ha\ing fully proved that the challenge he liad 

^ issued was no empty bravado, but it was founded in con- 
scious sinccritv, in the fullest conviction of rectitude of 
principle — of truth, of facts, of force of argument, and ef 
a fair prospect, not of mere victory, but of benefit to his 
cause. [ shrink not from saying of him thus publicly, 
what I have said more privately in the Committee, that I 
consider him, in this as in former controversies, as having 
borne himself, in every respect, creditably to his character 
and to his cause ; to have established, lo the full, his previ- 

,ous statements; to have successfully vindicated his Trans- 
Atlantic proceedings; to have justified the condemnation 
of American colonization schemes; and to have fairly 
fastened the guilt of slavery on the Government and peo- 
ple of the United States; that I consider him, in a woril, 
as having come out of this sevcii-times-heated fiunace un- 
scathed — without a ' hair of his licad singed, or the smell 
of fire having passed upon him.' If this meeting are 
of one mind with ine, they will accept the following reso- 
iution: — 

'Ttiiit, in tlm dniiboratp iud^nifnt of tliis meetin?, the wish an- 
nounced l)V Mr. tJcor.'e Tliompson lo inopt. piihlii^ly aiiyanla?o- 
nisi, ps(ji'ciaily Hiiy itiliiisfcr ol tlio Gospel from llio United Stnlos, 
on tlio snlijfct oCAinoiii'nn .-!|.'i\'eiy, or on aiiy oie oftlie l)ranch- 
rs of that sahiei-t, was dictated l)v a u'.MI-lbiindfd conscioiisntss 
of tlifi iiitcsrity ofliis purpose and a^sin-aiii-e of tli.' correctness of 
his facts: — amltliai the recent discu^i-ion in t.'iis city, l)e:vvoen hlui 
and tlie Rev. U .1. Hreikinrid^e, of IJaltiniore, lias left, not nicre- 
Iv unsliaken, but coiilh-iiied and aui,'nio:Ued, their confidciice in 
the rectitude of lii< principles, the purity of his motives, the prn- 
priety of hi-s measure-:, the fidelity of liis statements, and the 
Btniisht-forward honesty and uiiflauntod intreidditj of liis zeal.' 

It is far from being my intention, Mr. Chairman, to go 
through the controversy, and to comment on its various 
!)ranches. Far less do I mean to give utterance to a sin- 
gle word disrespectful, unfriendly, or unkind, towards the 
Rev. Gentleman who stood forward as his opponent. I 
give that gentleman all credit for sincerity, although I 
think him mistaken. I give him credit for personal and 
ministerial character and respectability; and while lean- 
not but condemn the contumelious aiiil sarcastic bitterness 
of some of his personalities, and whilst I conceive him to 
have failed in argument on every point that was worth 
contending for, — yet I give him credit too for talent, and 
tact, and shrewdness, and great general information and 
ability. His failme was owing, not to any deficiency in 
these and other qualifications, but to the intrinsic badne.-;s 
of his cause. Let me add, that I give him credit too for 
his spirit of patriotism, by which he was induced to offer 
himself to the vindication of his country. I can only siiy 
— and I say it, because I conceive him to possess mental 
qualities, and a weight of influence, such as, in a good 
cause, might fit him for eminent usefulness, — O that that 



patriotif^m were guided by other principles ! That, under 
the conviction that ' rigliKrousness exalteth a nation, and 
that sin is the reproach of any people,' and that every mo- 
ment of the wilful ('(jntinuance of sin is a moment ot guilt 
and danger, he woidd throw the weight of his influence 
into the right scale, and make them tell on the true vyel- 
fare of America, by m-aking them tell on the immediate 
annihilation of the evil, or rather of the frightfid coinbma- 
tioii of evils, in the oppression of enslaved millions; — the 
instant removal of the accursed thing from the midst of 
the camp ! This would be patriotism. I shall live in the 
hope that Mr. 15. may yet see and feel it lo bo so ; and 
that, like another Dr. Cox, he may carry with him, from 
this country, the full spirit of liberty, and set himself, on 
his return, to rescue his country from the reproach of all 
nations n>r her flagrant inconsistency, and from the gath- 
ering vengeance of ofiended Heaven against practised and 
tolerated oppression. 

The ([tiestion before us now \g, whether he made out a 
good case against Mr. Thotnpsoii 1 — and to this question 
I again answer — for vou, I hope, as well as for myself — 
No. I think he made out no case tigainst him, either as 
to the great general principles of his cause, or as to any of 
tlie more important details or departments of the discus- 
sion. He attempted to show that the slavery of America 
was not chargeable on America :>s a nation. I, for one, 
was amazed at the attempt ; triumphantly as I conceived 
Mr. Thompson to establish the charge he had brought, 
theie did not seem to me any need for nine grounds of 
proof. Why should Mr. B. telltis about the limited pow- 
ers of Congress, and the restraints of delicacy and of hon- 
or under which even these limited powers are laid 1 Why 
tell us of the distinct legislatures, as to this and other mat- 
ters, of the various States of the national confederacy; 
and of their incompetency to interfere with each other, or 
of the general Government to interfere with any of them 1 
Why tell us of the peculiarities in the legislative enact- 
ments of the (lifFerent States, and the difficulties thence 
arising'? What is all this, and much more, to the pur- 
pose T What is all this but tin admission, that, on this 
particular point, whatever it may bo in others, the federal 
constitution of the United Slates is radically and essen- 
tially bad 1 I must be allowed to apply this designation 
to any constitution that contains not witiiin itself the power 
of grappling with and putting down great and flagrant 
inifpiities. To vindicate the continuance, for one day, of 
the slavery and oppression of two millions and a half of 
immortal fellow-creature.«, in a country, too, boasting of 
its unrivalled freedom, on the ground that the constitution 
of the Government of that country is such, as not to admit 
of its beinsa; interfered with; my wonder is, that any man 
c.oulil stand forward and tell us this, and not 'blush and 
hang his head ' to own himself an American. What are 
national sins, if those are not such which arise from the 
very constitution of a nation's Government "? For what is 
a nation answeralile, if not for its constitution '! And if 
that constitution is defective and wrong, where, if not 
with the nation, lies the sin of its not being mended — of 
the defieiencv not being supplied — of the wrong not being 
rectified 1 If the constitution of America is confessedly 
such that it cannot authoritatively put forth its powers for 
the abolili.'in of iniquities, anil cruelties, and abominations, 
so flagrant and atrocious ;ts are comprised in a system of 
slavery so woefully extensive — let America — the country, 
the nation, the people of America, — rulers and ruled, if 
republicans will admit the distinction — let America bear 
the disgrace, and bear the guilt. 

The proceedings of the Abolitionists of America were 
assailed in the course of the discussion, in no measured 
terms of severity. It is needless to sav that, whether 
justly or unjustly assailed, it is not Mr. Thompson alone 
that is answerable for them. He followed out principles 
sanctioned at home. He followed out instructions receiv- 
ed from hpme. I am not aware of any point in which lie 



4 Public Mtiiins: in Glasgoic icith reference to the Discussion. 

went bevond tlie terms of his commission. I sjieak, of the property is his. He knows this; and he dcmanils it. 
curse, of the jreal general features nf his procedure. Have 1 a right to retain ill Certainly not. I maj , if 
And in tliese, and in the minuter details, moreover, he you will, reason the matter with him, aud try to persuade 
acted in alliance with societies there, holdin<j the same him that, for a time, it would be better for himself, more 
principles with ourselves. If there has been blame, tlien, for his interest, that it should remain with me. But far- 
we and thev must share it with bim. So far as Ihaveyi* iher I cannot go. If he persists in the demand, I must 
seen. 1 have no objections. The question now is — have r;ive it him. Now sir, liberty is property — property ina- 
You 1 lieirible but bv crime, or by the direct interposiliou ni ihf 

To me it appears, that the question respecting the pro- will of Heaven. A man's |)ers«in is property — prHperly 
prietv or the improprietv of the raeasuresof the Abolilim- whicli, except by the pimiiive visitation of God, c;»n never 
ifts will be found to resolve itself very much into another be lawfully held by ani)ther than himself. The slaves de. 
— into a question of principle. The principle to which I sire and demand their liberty and their persfms; they have 
rf'er, is the principle of our own association — the princi- ;i riglit to them in the law of nature and of God; it is not 
: 'c (to use a convenient term which had L-een coined for for us— -it is not for any man to say they are not capable 
■ ) of immediatism. If the principle of gradual ab.dilion of making a good use of them ; and therefore they must 
be the ri<»^ht principle, then the measures were undouhiedly not have them yet. They are rights of which they should 
wronz — as far as possilile wrou?. But if we are ri^ht in ne^cr ha\o Ix-eu deprived; rights which ought to be re- 
our principle of immediate abolition, I see not how ilr. stored; and for tlie use they make of lliein, they must be- 
T. and his associates on the other side of the water, could come themselves responsible. Such is the plain princi- 
well have acted otherwise than they have done. This pie of the case. And ex!)erience in luany instances — and 
seems to me the turning point; and of this Mr. T's oppo- even on the hirge scale of our own Colonial transactions — 
neut appeared to be sensible, when he urged so repeatedly has taught, that the apprehensions entertained on this sub- 
the unreasonableness — the infatuation, as he plainly thought ject, have had little or no sidid foundation. Every one 
it — of iusistint' upon the change being made instantly, in- must have l>ecn struck wilhllie identity of the wh(de strain 
dependentlv of all regard to consequences. Now, Mr. of argument in the recent Discussion, about the necessity 
Chairman, I was once a gradualist. It was in the ear- of training and preparation; or endeavoring to satisfy 
best stages of our own controversy. 1 will not trouble you owners and ma.<lers, of their interest and their duty ; of 
with tlie reasons which then satisfied rav conscience. They jirccautions to l)e taken; of instructions to lie connnuni- 
do not satisfy it now. I no\y hold, and blush not to avow caled; of habits to be formed; and of many other things 

notwithstanding Mr. B's evident astonishment that it to be done, ber>re it could l>e safe, and coiise<pienily liefore 

should lie held and avowed bv any reasonable man— the it could lie right, to emancipjite. We were used to this. 
))rinciple of doing, and doing" immediately, whatever the We had had it to satiety — to nausea; and we should have 
kw of God, in spirit and in precept, demands, without re- had it, Mr. Chairman, to this hour, and for years and gen- 
- ird to consequences. The most unreasonable of allprin- eratioiis to come, had we not taken, firmly and determin- 
iples, in my apprehension, is that which sanctions cim- ediy, the ground of immediate, entire, and unconditional 
linuance in sin, and waiu in anticipation of a distant day, emancipation. \Ve did this. We gainetl our point. .\ud 
and a position of circumstances, in which it will become where are the anticipated horrors 1 And our ground has 
right to relinqui^h it— light to cease from evil ! My prin- not changed. It is a matter of principle and of right 
ciple is simply this — abandon sin, do duty, and leave re- still; and, theref>re, we are immediatists in America, as 
suits with God. There are no imaginable circumstances in we were in the West ladies. 5ir. Thompson's mission has 
which it can be right or neca-sary to break the law of been called a failure. Those who think there is nii suc- 
Ood, in order to avoid evil. Duty is ours; consequences cess unless the end be fully attained at once, may call it so 
his. It is a matter of principle;" and when we have as- if they will; but the formation of 600 alvjlilioii s<jcieties, 
certained a principle to be right, it is not ret)uisite that we comprising, I Ijelieve, more than 30,000 members; the 
should also ascertain, before we venture to act upon it, extensive infusion of the spirit of abolition into tlie bos- 
w helher it may lie acted up<jn with safely. We, howev- oms of so many influential ministers and laymen, and of 
er, have found, in our experience, that it may. Gxl has the rising you'.ii of the colleges and seminaries of inslruc- 
taught us this lesson ; tnav our trans-.^thintic friends learn tion, as well as into so cousideiable a nuiiilwr of the pub- 
it, and act up.-jn u! — And if with them llie evil has Iseen lie journals — these, and other things, speak a dilTerent Ian- 
sanctioned by the constitution of their coun:rj-, and on this guage — tell a different t:-.ls. But I cannot enlarge here, 
ground compensation to whatever amount, should be deem- w ithout taking up ground that Ijelongs to another, by whom 
ed equitable — Mr. B. boasted of their freedom Irom taxa- it will be occupied willi more eliiciency. 
tion (consistently or iuconiijteniW with hiinsclf is not the There is t>ut one other point, Mr. Chairman, to which 
present question) and somewhat" exuUinily contrasted in I wish to advert. Sir. Thompson had given us, before 
this respect, America witli Britain. If heavilv-taxed the Lite discussion, very affecting, humbling, shocking de- 
Britalu, then, amidst all her Vjurdens, could part with her tails, in proof that in America, slavery was, to a sad ex- 
twentv millions for the attainiiipnt nf her benevolent end, tent, the sin of t!ie clr.irch. Now, .Sir, if there was any 
how much may not ^e spared for the s:«me purpose by un- one point on which, more thanon the rest, .Mr. T. was 
taxed America ! Here let them emulate ns, if they will, successful iu establishing his statements, and clearing him- 
I, for one, shall be well pleased, if they follow us in every self from every imputation of injustice, unfairness, and ex- 
thing but the ill-oraened apprenticeship. I h.ipe our expe- aggeraiion, this was that point. The documentary evi- 
rience will be a warning to them aaainst this; and teach dence adduced on the last uiglit of the controversy, cou- 
them to go right throush with the busines.s at once. I hold tained disclosures which gave him an appalling triumph, 
not odIv emancipation, but immediate emancipation, as a I coidd not but be pleased, to see our friend so successfully 
point of clear natural right; of right, I mean, lo the vindicate his integrity ; but oh I the satisfaction was fear- 
slave. Let me, for illustration, ?upp<ise an analogous case : fully diirkened by the rtaturE of the facts! To vindicate 
— Supp-.sel had property in my hands which I knewtol)e the ministers and churches of America, was avowed as 
the rightful hereditary patrimonv of a* young man, in one of Mr. B's principal objects. In no point diil be 
whose principles I had but little confidence, and who, I more signally fail. The defence was feeble, inefficient, and 
had causa to fear, might, if he had it, make but a sorry fruitless. The facts against him were overwhelming, 
use of it. It might, in seme re=pect=, ije desirable that I And here, Sir, let me say, there rests an obligation, 

should keep the propeitv for a time in rov own hands, if most imperative and solemn, upon the christians and chris- 
there was a prospect of his being disposed by and by to tian churches of our own country. The duty is, to 
make a use of it more for his own credit and benefit. But hasten their remonstrances to their erring brethren on 



Puhlic Meeting in Glasgoic ii-ith reference to the Discussion. 



tlie other side of the Atlantic ; to rouse tliein to a proper 
sense of their sin, and of \vh:it tlic hiw of Goil and liie 
Gospel of Christ alike demand of them. Mr. 15. has said, 
llial if this suhject is much meddled with, and especially 
if such mea.~ures are persisted in as those hitherto pur- 
sued, there must \)0 a breaking up of the fellrnvship of 
American and British christians. Sir, I pri/.ethal fellow- 
ship highly; I prize it individually; I prize it collective- 
Iv. But if it is a fellowship which re<|uires to l>e main- 
tained by connivance at iniquity and oppression — if it is not 
lo be cnji.yed, without our entering inl'> a cunipact to Ije 
silent or to be inactive on topics respecting which we feel 
it our incumbent and indispensable duty to ' lift up our 
voice like a trumpet,' and show our brethren their sin — 
then I j^av, with whatever reluctance and whatever pain, 
let the fellowship cease ! I have no conception of that 
sv.eet anil delightful communion, of which the terms are, 
silence and compromise, and gentle dealing with crying 
abominations. I have no relish for a harmony which a 
»vord uttered in behalf of oppressed ami degraded and suf- 
fering millions, would convert into discord, alienation and 
anarchy. I desire to have no ear for that music, which 
would be turned to jarring and harshness, if a single chord 
were touched of sympathy with the unpitied bondman. — 
By maintaining fellowship in such circumstances, and on 
such terms, we do double wrong. We not enly ' suffer sin' 
in our brethren; we directiv encourage it. Let us rather, 
by faithful remonstrance, ' deliver our own souls,* — wash 
our hands clean. If we retain fellowship without such re- 
monstrance, we contribute in the very stronge^st way in 
our power to confirm every light impression of the evil; 
by renouncing it, we give declaration — stron?, I admit, 
but not too strong — of our own impression of that evil; 
and such renunciation, dictated bv such a principle, may 
be the verv means of rousing from the lethargy we are 
solicitous to disturb, and of giving the impulse we are de- 
sirous to impart. 

I must have done. The resolution I have submitted to 
vou, expresses the decided conviction of mv own mind. — 
As to the sneers at our agent's not ffoing immediately to 
the Southern States, it would be foolish to replv to thein ; 
as foolish as it would have been for him to have ^one. I 
shall sav no more than that such an act of insanity would 
have shown that we had been mistaken in our man ; for, 
bv proving him destitute of common sense, it would have 
proved him imdeservin? of our confidence and commission. 
We no more thought of charging him to go on his arrival 
in America directly to the Southern States, the seats of 
trans-Atlantic slaverv. than, in the case of our own colo- 
nial slavery, we thought of sending him with a commission 
to the planters and assembly of Jamaica, or to make an 
emancipation tour through ;lie West India Islands. The 
one would not have been less absurd and hopeless than the 
other. 

I conclude by saying, that, in consequence of the recent 
discussion, George Thompson, insteud of having sunk, has 
risen in my estimation, lx)th as to fiersonal character and 
as to official ability, and trustworthiness; and never stood 
higher in my regard, than he does at the present moment. 
The resolution will be seconded, and you w ill then have it 
in your power to express your concurrence with this esti- 
mate, or your dissent from it. 

The Rev. Dr. was frequently and enthusiastically cheer- 
ed during the deliverj- of his address, and sat down amid 
repeated rounds of applause. 

The Rev. Dr. Kidston seconded the resolution. He 
would only give expression to one idea. The effect 
which had been produced by Mr. Thompson's lectures on 
slaverv in this country, afforded a practical illustration of 
the wisdom of the Head of the Church, in appointing 
preaching as the great means of propagating the gospel. 
More had been done by Mr. Thompson's lectures, than 
could have been effected by all the pamphlets it was possi- 
ble to circulate. He would only add that Mr. Thompsoa 



had risen greatly in his estimation in, consf-<i«cncc of the 
discussion which hail taken place a few weks ago. He- 
was particularly dclighteil with the last night '.j proceedings. 
It had been held out that, as a witness, Mr. Thonipson was 
unworthy of credit relative to the working of the elavr 
system in America, but on that ni^lit he ro:n()lctely pro\ctl 
all that he had furmerlv advanced, and that too on do«u- 
mentarv evidence, furnished by Americans themsehe«. — 
(Cheers.) 

The resolution having Ivn-n carried by acclamation. Dr. 
K. again c.tmc fiu'ward. He said that in a c;L*e such a.« 
the present, he thought the better way was for the audi- 
ence to express their opinion by holding up their hand*. 
The vote was then taken in this way, and the meeting, 
without a single dissent, acted on the suggestion. 

The Rev. Dr. Heiigh saiil, he was not in the habit of 
apologizing for not being prepared to do justice to the res- 
olution with which, on occasions like the present, he mieht 
be entrusted. He considered that no one should undertake 
such a duty, unless he were able to perform it in a proper 
manner. He was, nevertheless, sorry to say, that such 
was his situation as he stood before them. Circumstance- 
over which he had no control, had prevented him from be- 
stowing a proper degree of attention to the subject of the 
resolution which had been given him to propose ; but there 
was one thing which favored him, namelv, the great length 
of the resolution itself, which might well be taken as a 
substitute for a speech. The Rev. Dr. read the following 
resolution : 

' Tiiat the Gla=?ow EmJincip.ition Porietv rnniideni itself rallo-l 
iipoi to ronear it-s iinmiTiirnti^il roprohntion of ?lavprr,as existii)-' 
in tlie C^niteil States of .America, and of tha' iirejnclice arainst 
color, which is at oncp a re=iilt and support of thp slave system : 
a 5y=*era whi"h ijlirinslv violates a erpal principl'^ in the Ameri 
rnn Constitotion.declarine liHorty to I>e the ioalienable riehi of 
all men : which opposes th" epirit nod letfor of the relirion of 
holy bonovolenre so exten=ivelv professed by the Arperien.n peo- 
pl^, whir h is nrfvinciive of an iocalciil ihje arrionnt ofciimeand 
miser-, Imth anion? the two mi'linns of sTa>-es. and those ^■y whom 
thT are hell in Itondase : and which mo=t c.msfantlr offend .\l- 
mishty Oo I. and exi>ose th''t land to the visitations of his displeas- 
ure ;— -that it al~o repeats the eTr»rp«sion of its cordial ioy in the 
rapidity with which the cause of Immediate .Abolition has spreart. 
and is now spreadin? in America : in the rieaceful, intrepid, and 
relieiniis spirit, wh'ch. amidst Eood and had repor*, the American 
.Abolitionists have Keen enahled to disnlav : and in the near pros 
pect of hlno^lless triumph with which Divine Proririence already 
animates their efTorts — and finally, that it resolves anew, a Ion? 
with i|s many nritish n'lios. to remonstrate with the American 
people in the spirit of fidelity and Inve.oo the claims of the Xesr« 
ponnlntion : to cheer the .Miolilionists of America onward in their 
path of h<>nevoI"ace. nntil SUverv «h'>tl disnptv.ir from the .Amer- 
ican continent, and America and Britain, alreadv united bv many 
powert'iil ties, sh'ill consistent It and indissoluhir nnite, for tlie 
Abolition of Slaverv from the face of the earth, and the promotion 
of the happiness of the whole human family.' 

In saying a few words in supfwrt of the resohition, it 
would perhaps not I>e ami.s.s, notwithstanding all tliev had 
heard and read on the subject, to .set before tbem anew fi» 
the light of truth, the essential evils of slaverv, in order to 
render still more firm and deci.led their determination to 
aid the efforts of their tran=-.\llnntic brethren to remove 
it. In what light, he wotdd ask them, was slavery vieweij 
by the best writers on the subject 1 It was viewed as rob- 
bery, and that too in the most aggravated form in whicf» 
roblicry could'appear under any circumstances. If rob- 
bery was to take by violence the property of,another. ihr-n 
was slavery the most aggravated kind of roblierr. What 
was it but to take bv violence fi-om age. and from voiith, 
and from the feebler sex, that Iil>erty which is the property 
of every human lieing T Tlie slaveliolder denied to t\y» 
slave his right in bis own body. He said to his yictiro^ 
' your Iwdy is mine as these cattle are mine, and I will use 
you as I do my cattle,' — in the same nian'ier as the robber 
claimed a property in his booty. From this it appeared 
evident that slaveholding was just man-stealing. He dij 
not mean to say that every slaveholiJer stole slaves with his 
own hands; but he did mean, tliat by holding slaves he 
gave such a sanction to the theft as was tantamount to » 
full participation in it. He was grieved to witness tlie 
appeals made by slaveholders to the Scriptures of truth. 



Public Meeting in Glasgow with reference to the Discussion. 



for a snnclinn lo slavorv. Pxianlsof Jlinistnis were to lio 
Coiind nil.) tliiKs Uirnedto llio i;il)le ; liut iinluss they ooiild 
prirve t!i;it tlio Hible sancliono;! nian-?toaliii?, lliev r.oiil.l 
never prove ihat it suncliuiied !<lavirv. I'm s-lavdiolilmg 
' was not onlv a crime; it was a criiiif coininilled under 
agaravalc 1 circnnislanceo. It was a friglitfid alliance !)C- 
t ween power and maliu'nily — power triainpliing over ap;p, 
and inlaru y, and weakne.«. In America, it was to be 
seen in its "worst form, liased on lejalized iiiicinlly— ini(ini- 
ty under tlic pretence of iiw ; and there also it was |.erpi-t- 
iiated from tlie most cordi 1 motiTcs, tlie mere love of nam. 
No dotilit when an AmL-rican was asked why he did not 
sethirf slaves free, the answer he retnrned wonld {jcnernlly 
, he, that the <r\ho{ freedom c-udd nut he I.esL.wrd on thenj 
' without danijer to socielv— that ihev woidd, if relieved 
from their bondaje, fMst destroy the coniitiy and then 
themselves; hot the real molivc was the desire of lieing 
enriched hy means of slave labor. Mammon was at the 
root of the e\ il. The (|iieslion, however, wa? not at the 
' present day, whelher slavery was a crime, and the parent 
of much evil; but whether its abolition >lioidd be efTectcd 
(rradiially or at once. It was exccedinjly important in 
this discussion to take hold, and to keep Indd, of th« ad- 
missions made by the anii-abolitionists. By this means 
they were relieved from the necessity of provinjj slavery to 
be an evil; the lanjuase of abolitionist.') on this snbject 
was not strcHiL'cr than that of their opponents, in older 
to show this, the Rev. speaker read .some paFsages from a 
speech of Mr. BrecUinridf;e, in which (slavery was de- 
nounced as dear robbery, and a host of evils wer<< enumer- 
ated as sprin^injr out of it. In this ntanner, conilmied Dr. 
Heu;;h. -Mr. Brerkinridu'c admilled the frfont evil of sla- 
very ; but he did not mainlain his consistency when push- 
ed hard on the subject. Slavery was an evil; vet «_hen its 
immediale abolition was ndvocaieil. Mr. Brerkinri.lsc 
found out that, partly from the sellled habits of the slaves 
themselves, who knew not what freedom was. and could 
not appreciate its value, and partly from the extraordinary 
kindness of masters, the slaves were in more comfortable 
circumstances than llie peasantry of Britain. Passases 
miijht be pointed out in Mr. Breckinridge's speeches, in 
\yluch the home of ihe .American slave was represented as 
an Elysium, and in which he was said to bless the day on 
which he was brought to that land of slavery. In this rc- 
spect the anti-abolitionists somewhat resembled the Irish- 
man, who, when speaking of a row, said that fifteen men 
had l)een killed and murdered; but when (piestioned more 
closely, acknowledged that they had only C"t a sound 
dru1)bins, and were never a bit the worse fen- it. But, 
■ 'vvliilehe^ spoke thus of the Americans, he be^aed at the 
same time to say, that in some respects thev di<l not, in 
his opinion, receiv-j full justice from us. The Union was 
composed of 24 States. In 12 of these slavery was now 
unknown, 4 of them never liavinfj tolerateil it at all, and 
the other S, comprisin-r the most populous, the most mor- 
I' al, and the most powerful, havin? long snice. abolislie.1 it. 
This they had eflecteil without foreiijn interference of any 
Idnd, aiid now these States contained a population ol 
50,000 free nesroes. N.)W he di>l not hesitate to say 
America deserved creiiit for this. If onr West Inilia Is- 
lands had not been under the cimtrol of Britain, when, he 
would ask, would their slaves have been libei-ated T There 
was another |)oint to which he wonkl advert, namely, 
the rapidity with which abolition principles were sprcad- 
ino- in America. When IMr. Thompson left that country, 
there were 250 abolition Societies. Before he had left 
Glasgow last, he had received intelligence that these 2.50 
had been doubled; and in a letter just received from ^Ir. 
Garrison, it is stated that not fewer than 600 are in exis- 
tence ! He would also remark, that a vast proportion of 
the piety of .America was in what mishtbe called a state 
of transition on the snbject of abolition. He recollected 
the time when they themselves had their doubts as to the 
|)olicy of giving the slaves immediate freedom. They 



were satisfied that slavery ought to be abolished; but they 
were not prepared to fix a precise time when the work 
coulil he completely accomplished. Their minds \y<re not 
made up as to the "propriety of iunnediate emancipaliuu. 
A ;;reat many excellent men in AnterJca were now in the 
same siate of transition ; and fnnn what was known of 
American enterprise ami intrepidity, no one would hesilale 
to believe that they would speedily get out of il. Mr. 
nre(kinri<Ige had "spoken of the anxiety felt by many 
of the .Americans for the abolition of slavery, and had 
said, thai if we had tmly the patience to wait for 20 years 
or .so, some of the prcseiil slive Stales miyht be found lo 
imitate the eight who ha\e already aboli.-heil shucry. But 
exeii this prospect, ilisiant as it was, was clouiled with a 
coniliti.iu. They ini{;ht abolish sla\ery in twenty years, 
' if tlu'v were let alone;' and now lliat the immediate ab- 
olitionists had broken in upon their plans, .Mr. B. sairl ab- 
olition had been thrown back at least a cenliiry. Il thus 
n|)peared that t;ra<Uialism was but another nanu; for in.len- 
nile post|)oncment. But there was another consideration 
in favor of imincdiato abolition, namely, the shorlness of 
life. In the United States of America, no fewer than 
60,000 ."laves die annually. r,\ery year that the existence 
of slavery is prolmijed, 60,000 human beiu^js are sen! to 
the ^rave withont ha\inj{ Ix-en p«>rmilted lo taste the sweets 
of liberty; (iO.OOO human beings are sent before the throne 
of the Almii;hly, to testify ngainst their while o|5pressors. 
Were an antediluvian term of life Rranled to ihe present 
generation, a delay of 20 years tnighl be of liille conse- 
tpience ; but, restricted as the term of human life now 
was, it could only l)C viewed as dashing the cup from the 
lip. If slavery were the evil which even those who op- 
posed immediate emancipation ailmitted it to be, to what 
did delay in puttinj; an end lo il amount, but to a delay in 
leavinsj olT cricne T He wo\ild say, di'lay not an instant in 
ceasins to do e\il, in learning to do well. Let llicm trust 
to the firm footing of immeilialc and universal emancipa- 
tion. For the sake of ihe slaves— for the sake of the 
American people — above all, f.ir the sake of that holy re- 
ligion, the progress of whiih was arrested and ita iionor 
Ptaineil In the existence of slavery — ihey ought never (o 
cease their effort.-!, till they saw Americans and Britons 
cng-aged together in extending the blessings of freedom 
over Uic whole earth. Dr. Ilv^ugh was greatly cheered ag 
he rc.-umed h'n seat. 

The Rev. John EaJie, of Cambridge Street Secessiein 
Cliafiel, on .seconding ihe motion, said — The ipiostion, 
sir, to which our attention is turned, is now hap[)ily cir- 
cumscribed. It is not — fhall the s1a\e tra*lel>e abidished 1 
For that nefarious trallic has been declared to Ije fidony. 
The question is not, shall slavery be mitigated? That 
too has been decidetl. Amelioration of slavery is but a 
compromise with the evil: and gradual abolitiem — the 
sacrifice of justice and humanity to sordid interest and ex- 
.pediency. I'he question is not, shall slavery exist in our 
own colonial dependencies ? — shall a system which l>c2an 
in an impious violation of the rights of man, anil contin- 
ued on the same fonndaticjn — a system, in which on the 
part of the master, lenity was a crime, and sympathy a 
loss; in which, on the part of the slave, religions knowl- 
edge was a sus|)ected possession — a system which annually 
consigned so many victims to an early grave; sent their 
bodies to the dust", and their spirits to the avenging mil- 
lions beneath the altar. Shall such a system exist in the 
British dominions 1 That question too has been decided ; 
the trumpet of jubilee has sounded ; a change has been ef- 
fected, not the best indeed, but the earnest and presage of 
entire emancipation. Already the prophetic eye, piercing 
the dim haze of futurity, sees' the happy laborer in the 
field, no whip behind him, no terror on his brow, no scar 
on his flesh, no reluctance in his limbs. And the experi- 
ment has already proved an attestation to the inspired an- 
nouncement, that « wc have all one Father, that one God 



Pul'Iic Meeting in Glasgow icith reference to the 



fiscuosion 



luiil. rieato.l iis;' thnt, in sliort, all tlic tribes of the earth ei] in reply to a coinmnnicution sont Ijv your r,.mii,I tic- 
are but as streaiiilels from one fountain, tlioiigli each may Tlie letter is addre.-sed lo tlie Rev. Dr. iieiish : 

liave acquired a peculiar form and color, from the soil it « -ii v' p ■ i ' 6 • 

may have traversed, and the rocks and minerals it may ^J' "=0 * ''«»-'lent: 

have washed. i$ut ,vhile this l,as been accomplished, only wi.l,'7i;l Ell U^n'^Z Mr! n.'A^K!;!?:on;'' T?:^!!^;^:;^!;;!; 




temporary failure, or partial success. That, sir, is biiLa 
selfish emotion, which is circumscribed by country or con- 
tinent, which waits till its interference be sniiplicaled, or 
desists when its character may be exposed. Are not wo, 
then, simiraoncd to continued exertion in the cause of im- 
mediate, unCi)nditional, and universal emanci])ation 1 How 
many thousands are bound in cruel thraldom, and in a 

country where the extremes of liberty and despotism con- li,oi" t'lp toriitDiies of EnKland. I pray joii'uccc 
front each other, as if on a paction of independent neu- ^"^"' """:''l'est regard, &c. &c. 



ollior iiaiii!, we .shall jovlullyiiv.iil 
iiipaiis > ou .'^iisi-'cst, of pla^•in^ at j unr li isjiosal all 
wltirh v.-c arc af(|iiainlei], tliat may assist jnii in 

xa.tci! o.-iii 5 on liavp in view. I'erscvcriii? cfr'orl:! 

iitnt;;uii oiu- iiavt, for rc2:nl..tin(s: and carryjn-,' tlu! 

" ■" ^ ' ' '' ■ mancipation oflJio 



trality, — in a country where unfettered Christianity toler- 
ates fettered men, — in a country where human rights in 
their fullest claims exist with human wrongs in their sad- 
dest form and inliiction. Shall this Kociety relax in their 
exertions while one human being groans in fetters — espe- 
cially when millions are enslaved ? And while we con- 
dole with the snfi'crer, and sympathise with those who have 
devoted themselves to the cause of freedom, in the face of 
christian and republican hostility, shall we not, by corres- 
])ondence with sister societies — by remonstrance and ap- 
jieal to the volume of unerring truth, endeavor to rouse the 
American nation to abolish its unhallowed inconsistency, 
which tarnishes the li!;erty and the religion it professes to 
enjoy and revere. Especially let us not be deceived into 
repose by any attempt to mitigate the horrors of slavery. 
Slavery cannot be separated from cruelty. The ox may 
labor — the bee gather honey — the sheep bear its fleece, 
and all, as sung the Latin poet, not for themselves — the 
labor of the slave might be as disinterested, hatl he only 
their instinct. As long, then, as ' sic vos non vobis,' ex- 
presses the similarity of his condition to that of the brute 
creation, so long must he be urgeil by cruel compulsion to 
that task from which he reaps no benefit. More than man, 
the slave might not be deteriorated by such vassalage; less 
than man, •rrationality would ease him of his woes. Let 
UH not be blinded by any suggestion of expediency which 
may retard the freedom of the unhappy Negro. If a man 



onrsclvc- of tl 
tli,Minl;iils wii 
nlhiiiiim ilm ( 
shall oot I)f! \vi 

important (inestions relaiinK lo the tir _ „., „„ „, „,,. 

slavesVVe alsoconsiunras one of tho imrest tjloiies in llie his- 
tory of the world, that of tho.sci mpii who in our couiitry iiave --o 
powcrlnily contnbiiicd hy tlieir uiicea-sinar activitv as wpII as hy 
the eneray of tlieir talents, to cause tliedisapptarance of Slavery 

pt my expiea- 

BROGLIE.' 

Sooner or later the slavery of the French colonics will be 
brillianlly abolished, and wc shall find the forces of French 
philantbropybyourside, ifnot before us,in the glorious march 
touards universal emancipation. (Cheers.) Yet, look- 
ing at the constitutions of countries, France is not the first 
we would expect to be forward in this good work. There 
is one whose principles Vvould lead us to expect earlier 
and more energetic co-operation in breaking the rod of the 
oj}]jres.sor. The American declaration ol rights, which 
declares personal liberty and undoubted and inalienable 
pro|)erty, of which man may on no pretext despoil man, 
seems to promise fair for the most liberal benevolence, 
and how lamentable, then, is it that America is neverthe- 
less, the great seat of the abhorrent evil which we are la- 
boring to eradicate. (Hear.) Our object is not to cast 
ourselves into the arms of any party in America, but to 
promote the general interests of the cause. If we be- 
friend any specially, it is because they specially befriend 
the negro. I eaniit help, however, expressing regret that 
those called Colonizationists should attempt, by such means 
as I hey employ, to obtain the ascendency over those called 
Abolitionists — by violence and defamation. The cut- 
throat story, I found in the journey to which allusion has 
been made, has been circulated, on the continent as well 
as here, 



and really that story, having its own throat cut ' 

..^^„. „ ,,|,j. ^. .> ....... l^y t''° wry satisfactory and v.'ell authenticated explanation 

rolHiis feliow.and the robbery be d'e'tectedt is not instant °' ^J'"- 'I'hompson, should, as confessedly diseased, be en- 
reparation claimed 1 Surely then, if a creature defraud t''™"^" as expeditiously as possible. (Laughter.) Sup- , 
his Maker, and the Negro is the properly of the Lord of P"®-'"?' I'owever, such aspersions just— what do they 
Heaven, shall not immediate and entire restitution bo de- 'J'""^'^ • '^''*^3' ^''" neither modily the excellence of free"- 
manded ? Our eiTorts, in reliance on Heavenly aitl, ''o™> "''•■ the hatefulness of bondage — you wound the men i 
though the epoch of triumph bo deferred, will at length be '^Y ti'^'", but their principles are invulnerable. And if ' 
successful. A brighter day is in reserve for Africa, and f''"^f emancipationists— we ti>ay ask our Trans-Atlanlic 
fur the worhl. Whalever'may have been their darkness — brethren, are so very contemptible, how comes it that by 

" your own admission, they are so very infiuentian The 

mission of Mr. Thompson, it has been asserted, lias 
thrown back the caii.se for a century. (Hear.) Extra- 
ordinary I America was in movement— the millions of 



and it has been dense — whatever may. have been their sla 
very — and Jt has been galling — whatever may have been 
their superstitions^anil they have been bloody and de- 
grading — a time of liberty and renovation has been p'roin 



ised; when the human family in all its- 'millions of liearts *''.*' Worth, and the millions of the South, — but while this 

shall be united — none so haughty as to be an oppre.'-sor — '"'Si"y pt-'ople were in progress, Mv. Thompson, whom 

noncKo tame as to be enslaved;' but.all as happy and har- they cannot characterise in language sufficiently contenijjt- 

monious as if Eden still existed, and its walls were co-ex- "''"^' 'i>>*^''tunately crossed their path, and all farther ad 



vanceiacnt was precluded, for a century to come ! P^man- 
cipation is put back, is it, a hundre.l years 1 If that be 
the period of its postponement, I wonder what is the whole 
period of ils destined duration ! Surely the respite is long 
enough of itself. Are successive generations to pass into 
the tomb, and the babe just born, to transmit the cursed 
hiheritance of bondage, to his children's children, ere er- 
'That it is ofgircat importance for the friends of freedom in ror yields to truth, or cruel outra"-e to comnassionate 

difliToiit countries, to cu opLratc in hasteiTinft the extinction of r'liiM>:f!n,-.;tf 7 'V\.„ . * • " i i i i%t" . ... 

Sl,,v,.,v throim-hoia Hi.-, world, anilihatinthiHconvictionthemect- ^""^tiaiiit^, 1 he prospect is unendurable. Much will 

''!ippen in a hundred years, and we shall hope, and pray, 
and strive that the extinction of bondage be one of the 



tensive with the bounds of the globe. (Cheers.) 

Dr. Hetigh read several interesting extracts from' letters 
lately received from Messrs. Lewis Tappan and William 
Lloyd Garrison. The announcement of the names of these 
philanthropists was received with enthusiastic cheering. 
The Rev. D. King moved the third resolution : 



•I miidi 

■nis lliiit I, MS jnst, p; 

ly and of I'aris.' 



nitcrchaniie of friendly acknowi- 
ssed helweoii the Kniancipationists of 



Sir, I believe that little more is expected of me than to 
read the following letter from the Duke de Broglie, receiv- 



consummations; that betbic another century has revolved, 
every chain may be .severed, and every ca|)live ransomed, 
and libeity and litiinanity stand every where as closely as- 



Public Meeting in O'la.igoiv ivith reference to the Discussion. 



snciatetl in praclice as lliey nre iii>npaial)l(; in principle. 
(Cbceis.) One word more aWoiit the contcinpliljie aboli- 
lionislp. Yixi say tiioy arc (Icsl.oyin^ the cause iiy mis- 
niaiias^cmcnt — then lake it out of liicir hands and manage 
it hfiler. Thcv will never l)n ."iipprcpsed l)y opposition ; 
let tlieir efforts ihen be siiaded liy elVorts ycl nobler, and 
the light of their despised taper lost in purer, brighter, 
iii.ii(! ixMiignanl effulgence. 

Meaiiwhilo, onr duty is plain. While inicpiity i? mnin- 
tained, \\c must in any wise rebuke our ncii^hbor, and not 
suffer sin upon hiui. We have .*ti'|>pcd forwanl, antl can- 
nt)t draw back. A respect to truth fubiils it— fidelity to 
our Lord forbid.s it — compassion to the enslaved, not a 
few of whom are brethren in bonds, forbids it — our admi- 
ration of the better ([ualilics of the .American couimuuily 
forbids it. We see much in America to love and imitate 
— many of its institutions— many of its worthies— but we 
w ill not, cannot countenance its slavery.^ Evasions are 
vain. It is no fairy scheme of colonization, no subtle, 
.••■pecious pleading that is Ifi lessen our abhorrence of hu- 
man robbery, or our labors for its aunihilalion. America 
lias suffered, in the estimate of the w ise anil good, by trans- 
gression, and can be exalted only in righlconsne.-s. In- 
stead of banishing, as you propose, the Negro, O bani^U 
his thraMom— instead of vilifying the abolitionists, out- 
rival their exertions — instead of disdaining onr interfer- 
ence, listen to christian expostulation; and then, and not 
till then, mav America become what she claims to be— the 
glory, and admiration, -.md rejoicing of the whole enlight- 
ened world. (Cheers.) 

I\1k. DAVID M'LAREN, on sccomling the resolution, 
said :— 1 rise with pleasure to second the resolution which 
has been now proposed, and so ably and eloiiuciilly sup- 
ported. No remarks of mine are ic<|uireil to . nsure its 
cordial and unanimous adoption by this meeting; 1ml I 
cannot refrain from expressing the delight which 1 feel, in 
common 1 know, with you.^Jr. Cliairman, and I am per- 
suaded, with every one" now present, ill the ihoughl that 
the common bond "of brotherhood, instead of being '. sever- 
ed as the llax that falls asunder at the touch of fire,' is 
now expressly and publicly recognized; and that the 
two nations, w'liich in our youth abhorred each other, have 
mingled into one. 

It is pleasing to reflect, tliat while he was describing the 
evils of slavery, that the sweet christian poet lamented the 
alienation of man from in.in in the terms to which I have 
alluded, the harmonious co-operation over w liicli we rejoice 
and to which the resolution before us refers, has occurred 
in the holy cause of the extinction of Slavery throughout 
the world. 

Mr. ROBERT KETTLE proposed ihe fourth resolu- 
tion : — 

'Tlir\t,ns the Press is one of tlie most rfTicieiit instruincnU in 
nromotiiiK iho success of llie Kmanciimtioii cause, llicsc procccil- 
in«3 be pulilishcd as widely as possiljlc, under tlie dirt-cliou ul tlio 
Coiiiiiiiltee.' 

It is so much a matter of course that a public roeeting 
give publicity to its proceedings, that 1 would conceive it 
unnecessary to say one word in support of my motion, were 
it not for tile specialities of the case, and an intimation 
which 1 have \)een re(|ncsted to append to it. It will be 
recollected by many present, that Mr. Thompson's chal- 
lenge to discuss American Slavery, was accepted by his 
opponent when at Durham, through the medium of the 



London Patriot, ami reported in inanv of the other p.apcrs. 
In fixing upon Glasgow as the place fir holding the discus- 
sion, it was stated by .Mr. Breckinridge that Mr. Thomp- 
son could have no objection to this, as it was the head 
quarters of liis friends. This circumstance, and the confi- 
dent manner in which IVIr. 1$. embarked in the controver- 
sy, would doubtless leave upon the minds of many, an im- 
pression that his cause was surely a good one, and that a 
man of such high character, and suchoxtcnsive knowledge 
of America, would not so far commit himself as to produce 
charges which he couhl not substantiate; and probably 
some of the less informed regarding the character of Mr. 
'J'hompson, and the principles he, in common with ur, ad- 
vocates, may lie expecting to hear that we arc ashamed 
of our Agent, and that we arc completely cured of the fol- 
ly of saying that America ought to do that which is right, 
and to do it iiumediately. We must endeavor to satisfy 
these good folks, be they in England, Ireland, or Scotland, 
that wc arc more attached than ever, (if it is jiossible to 
be BO,) both to our old principles and to our able and elo- 
quent Agent, who so faithliilly, so prudently, so pcr^cVcr- 
iiigly, and so succcsslullv maintained and propagated these 
principles in America. We can only do this llirough tlio 
public press, and die doing of it is attended with expense. 
Your acciiiiescing in my motion, therefore, leads inc to call 
from each of you for a motion of your own. I am re- 
(|uesteil to inform you that there will be a collection on be- 
half of the Society on leaving the meeting, 'i'he motion 
vou have to make is a very becoming one. The heart 
speaks to the hand, the hand makes an err.ind to the pock- 
et, and communicatee with tliir plale at the door, and in 
this way good pe<jple have an opportunity of doing good 
to a good cause. II any of you should be without money 
in your pocket, ami wish l'> aid us, \our subscription will 
lie thankfully received by .Mr. IJeitli, the Treasurer, Mr. 
Sincal, the Secretary ; or by any inemlier ol the C'oinuiil- 
tcc. 

Dr. Heiigh again rose. At the risk of its being thought 
that he spoke too often, he must lay somelhing Iwfore them, 
to which he diil not know well how to allude. It relates 
to our friend .Mr. Thompson. He had never been ade- 
(piately remunerated for his services, lie had only got 
what barely sustained hiiii and his family. A few frienda 
to th3 emancipation cause having taken this into consider- 
ation, they resolved to present him, not with a piece of 
plate, but with a pecuniary testimonial. Though only a 
lew had yet subscribed, the sum already amounted to be- 
tween 20"0/ and ZOOl. 'i'heir townsman. Dr. Lleland,haJ 
been presented with a testimonial of a substantial descrip- 
tion; and though he diti not wish to depreciate the Dr.'s 
services, he must say he considered that 3Ir. 'i'hompson 
had wrought at least as well for such a mark of esteem. — 
He would say no more; but if they would l)e so good as 
to turn it over in their kind hearts, and communicate the 
result to his friend .Mr. Lelhein, the 'i'reasurer to the tes- 
timonial fund, he trusted somelhing w^.iild be done to hon- 
or Mr. Thoui|)son, which <vould, iii fact, be also honoring 
themselves. 

Thanks were then voted to Dr. Ileugli and the Manag- 
ers, for the use of the Chajiel, and to .Mr. Crahaine, for 
his conduct in the Chair. The venerable chairman was 
rapturously applauded by the audience. The meeting 
broke up about ten o'clock. 



REV. R. J. BRECKINRIDGE'S LETTER 



To the Rev. Ralph Wardlaw, D. D., of Glasgoio: 

Sir, — I observed in the London Patriot, of last week, 
Hii abstract of the proceedings of the (;ia?|,'ou' Emancipa- 
tion Society, on the 1st of this nioiilh, at a public meet- 
ing held ' for the purpose of exprp^siiig the seiitiinents of 
the society in reference to the recent discussion on Amer- 
ican slavery, between the Rev. K,. J. IJrcckinridtfe and 
Mr. George Thompson.' The greater portion of the re- 
port before me, is occupied by a speech made by you on 

I that occasion, in proposi ig to the meeting the folfowing 
lesolution, viz.: ' That in the delibeiale judgment of this 
meeting, the wish announced by Mr. fJeorge Thompson, 
lo meet publicly any antagonist, especially any minister of 
the gospel from the United States, on the subject of 
American slavery, or on any one of the branc'hes of that 
subject, was ilictated by a well founded consciousness of 
the integrity of his purpose, and assurance of the (;orie(;t- 
ness of his facts; and that ihe recent discussion in this 
city between him and the Rev. R. J. Bieidiinridge, of 
Baltimore, has left, not merely unshaken, but confirmed 
and augmented their confileace in the rectitude of his 
principles, the purity of his motives, the |)iopiiety of his 
measures, the fidelity of his statements, and the straight- 
f >rward honesty and undaunted infrepi.lity of his zeal.' 
This motion was seconded by the veuer.ible and respected 
Dr. Kidstoue; whose speech on ihe occasion is but brief- 
ly rejjurted. Oiher resolutions — some of similar import, 
some of a general character — ^were offered aiiil seconded 
by Dr. Heugh, ami Messrs. Eadie, King, M'Lareii, and 
Kettle. But above all, the f)roceedings bear the signature 
of Robert Grahame of Wliiteliill — whose veneralde name 
IS ilear to every good man. 

These proceedings, sir, have relieved me from a state 
of great and painful anxiety, as to the view my countiy- 
men might take of the propriety of mv taking any notice, 
more or less, of Mr. George Thompson. For, while 
nothing is further from my purpose than to wound the 
feelings of arty ft lend of that individual, it is necessary to 
say, that in America, everyone who is not an abolitionist, 
or, in other words, ninety-nine hundredtlis of the people 

^ Oonsider him, not only unworthy of credit, but unworthy 

rt of notice. At length, I have a tangible proof, by which 
to make my countrymen feel, that persons of the Utmost re- 
spectabiliiy, excellence, anil piety, in Britain, not only con- 
cur in all the principles and proceedings, l)ut partake of 
all the prejudices and ignorance of that individmil, and 
openly defend his flagitious Conduct. From this day forth 
I deem myself fully acquitted im the only jjart of the sub- 
ject which filled me with personal anxiety. For, aithontrh 
yon have not hesitated to speak in terms snlliciently dis- 
paraging of my humble efforts to defend the truth ; yet, 
as you have given no reasons for the judgment you have 

^ delivered, those who read for themselves may escape the 
intluence even of your anthiu-ity. And as yon have been 
pleased to decide (jii llie whole merits of the case, as well 
as on the merits of the ijarties involved in it, I escape, of 
course, from the whole blame of having damaged the 
truth by feeble advocacy. 

In this state of the case, it cannot surprise you, that I 
turn with delight from those Who have hitherto assailed 
nie, and address myself lo you: thai I avail myself of the 
right arising from yuur free and repeated use of my name, 
and your judgments both upon my character and "acts, to 
speak freely in return. Let us f^ngetthe miserable tritliii" 
of Mr. Robert Bernard Hall. Let us pass over poor Mo- 
ses Ivoper, who, it is but just to say, has written the nmst 
itiodcst and sensible attack yet made on me. Let us even 



be moderate, in having absolutely silenced the garruiltj' 
o( Mr. Thompson, who beg» off in his k-ut note-, which 
has just reached me, in the Patriot of ihe 17lh instant. 
I have that to tay which you have not only invited, bcrt 
challenged ine to utter, and to which I ask your serious 
regard. 

I have manifested my deference to the judgment of a 
christian people, by discussing at its bar, questions purely 
natKMial and personal, mto which, under erroneous pre- 
texts, they had interfere<i in a manner the most vexatious. 
I believed they were in great error, — I presumed they 
were sincerely disposed to do good, — I knew they were 

really doing us, and themselves, and the world harm; 

and challenged and forced into the miitier, I have discuss- 
ed it on its mere merits— admitting you and vour people 
to be all you professed to be— and only endeavoring to 
prove that we were not bo evil as you made us out. So 
lar as you and those whom you can induence are concern- 
ed, you have declared that you remain more firmly than 
ever settled in your harsh judgments of us, and your fixed 
purpose to fjlluw out all your offensive courses. ' Nay, you 
pl.iirdy declare, that rather than alter a little of your conduct, 
principles, opinions, or (lemands on this subject, you pre- 
fer that alUellowship between ns and you should termin- 
ate 'I'JiHt argument and conclusion, then, being com- 
plete and nnal, we need say no more. I am coiUent to 
wait and see, whether the American people will, at your 
suggestion, change their national coiistiiuiion ; or wheth- 
er, in the event of the adequate majority for that pur- 
pose not being attainable, they will, as the inference of 
your argument, break up the confederacy — to regain your 
good opinion. 

Tiiere is, ns I have said, quite another view of the 
whole case. You say in the course of your speech : ' If 
our American lirelliren saw anything in us. which they 
Ihouglii, and justly thought, was an evil of sufBcienl mag- 
nilude to induce their kind offices for its suppression, w'o 
ought to feel obliged by their using their endeavors to stir us 
up lo a due consideration of it, and to practical efforts for its 
removal.' And in the context you are somewhat pointed in 
enforcing this idea, as containing in it a great rule of duty. 
Li geiier.il, we have con>iderod the ill-doing of this deii- 
cnie office more hurtful lli;ui its oini-;sion. Li particular 
it has appeared to us as a pretext liahle to infinite nliusi'' 
and prnclir^illy resoried t.. most by those who had least 
ground and l.^ast right to display it.' P.u[, sir, I can hard- 
ly, eitiicr In I'aiibkiliif-s or honor, aHstnin any longer Iroin 
its use. And the main oiject of ihis cominunication is, lo 
point out, in the actual coiidilion of considerable portion* 
of tlie Biiiish Empire, evils, wliich really aie, or which 
your parly ha-^ declared to be, of so palpable and so mon- 
strous a description, that decency would seem to require 
you lo repress iljem, or be very modest in reUuking otiier* 
while they exist. 

L 'I'o come at once to the grand cause of outcry againsi 
us— the unhappy and indefensilde existence of slavery, \\t 
ni.iny of the States. Wil I you be so good as lo turn jour 
eyes lo the map of Africa, and fix them on a spot longer 
than liait'of Western Europe ? At its snulhern exireniiiy 
friid Capie Town. Then find the speech of Dr. Phillip, de- 
livered in Exeter Hall ten days after yon delivered yours. 
L) ihat town and neigliborhood are 9000 British sfaves '. 
Scattered over that vast peninsula are many lliousanrf 
more of British slavos ! ! And yot the ear of day is dull 
with l)eiiig lold Ihat in the P<ritish Empire there were no 
slavos; and the very speech thai has elicited these remarks 
was made at a meeting on Ihe anniversary devoted lo a 
glorious fact ih.ii never occurred, namely, ■ Slave Euiao- 
t'ipaiion in the British Colonies.' ' 



10 



Rev. R. J. Breckinridge's Letter to Dr. Wardlaw. 



2. Turn, now, I pray yon, lo the map of Asia, and find 
the vasl tioniinioiii wlmli God has lenl lo you iIrtp, ciii- 
bruciii<f a populdliDii <>l Oiu- hiui(lit;d uikI llurly nuliioiis ol 
souls. 'I'licii liiok DVtT a tile (il ijapers, Hiat read n coii- 
versaiion Ui;il occujied iii ihe CuiMuions House ot I'.hIim- 
mciiil, but a siiorl lime back, lieiwetii ihe lionoiahle Mr. 
liuxlun and SJii J. lloUlmux;, on lliu siiljecl oC BnlisU 
slavery in India! 'J'liere ^ou «ill fuid ii adniiiud tliai 
' doniesiic slavery prevails lo a greal exlenl ' in India, 
' especrally in i}eiij;al.' 'J'iierc you will lind |)ri,ol'llidl no 
illtfcl flTorl was ever mcidu lo ybolisli il, — ;iiiil iiasons 
urged hy llm g<ncriini(;iil wliy il CHiiiiol now he aholislnd 
—and why ire.ilics now rxisiing seem lo rt-iider ils luiuie 
abolilioii ini|>os>il>l(; ! 

3. Turn your alUMilion iipxl lo lh<; W'oslern siiJn of llie 
Allanlic Oteau, and see nearly a niilli.>ii ol appicniicrs 
in llic W'esl Indirt Islands; and then remember «liai you 
have youisetl said and wrillen on llie suhjrcl of this sys- 
tem ; and call lo mind the rniiuirieral>le diclaralions made 
weekly , up and iIdwii iho couniry, by ihose v ho belonij 
lo your pnriy, and who (al ilie Hmulsworih Anli-Slavery 
Sofiely, on Ihe IJd ol lliis moiiilij dcriouiiied it ' as n';ra- 
valed Slavery, under ihe delusive nnine of apprentice- 
ship,' and deiiounie every • |)roposal of goveriwnenl ' as 
only caicnialed lo excite suspicion. 

Do I draw an inlerent-e ai all strained, when [ say, thai 
tile subjeclsofa inoiiartli, whose doininions in three cpiar- 
ters ol the globe are, by llwir own ^hl)will■J and iriefra- 
gable priKils, covered with slaves, should deal soinewhal 
gently with other iKitions. who may chance to be in the 
same unhappy coiidiiioii '! Do I say too much, when I 
eaulioii sucli people to be more giiarded in bciastlul asser- 
tions, which are contradicted l>y the facl and the record of 
Ihe case ? Do 1 givi- needless oU'ence, when 1 beijynu to 
remember, thai your Failiainciil i-. oinnipnient over this 
subject, and is, t lien fore, responsible lor all the evils w hich 
exist, either throu<;h iheir iief^liociice or by their consent f 
Alasl sir, il is an ancieiil liiibil, lo be bitter auainsi our 
brother for n n)oie, wlien a beam is in our own eye. 

Dul 1 have mure lo add. We have been s|)okeii ajjainsl 
with great sevcriiy lor nej;lecl of ihe spiriuial weHare of 
the colored p<ipiilalion of the Unileri Siate.s : and \oii 
have, in an niiha|/pv hour, said _\ on believed and approved 
these hard sa} in^s. 1 have, in vain, (b'lned ; in vaiii, dis- 
proved them, riiy object now is, to show the coii<liiioii of 
the couniry, wiiosc iicnplo brin-; and credit ihem ; slill 
keepiiii; the line of duty indir.iied by your s»;;!jeslion. 

4. Let me be^ 30U iheii to look .tI ihe condiiiun of Low- 
ft Canad.T, where the Roman Catholic reli<;ion is estab- 
lished by treaty and by law, where annual sfraril.i of puli- 
lic money are made lo support it, and where il has had 
free cmusc, nnlil the people rue so ignorant lh.it by stninie 
law the grand jurors and the school eoinunssionors are 
allowed the privilege of making their marks instead of 
siiiniiig' their names, and vvliere, according to the belief 
of the whole universe, except papists, a system of idola- 
Irous Worship is guaranteed by the power of the Uritish 
realm. 

5. Then look over the voles in the Coininillee of Sup- 
ply ill the present Pnrliann iit, and yon will .tee 8,92S 
pounds ' for the llonian Calholie College at .Maynootli,' 
(which is just about the siiin the v illilied Aiiiei iraiis pay 
aiinnally to proinote the reli!4ion of Jesus Cln ist in Wes- 
tern .AtVicvi, tliroiigli the Colonization Society,) and I ask 
you, as a Christian, to resolve the (p.ieslions, which of 
thede enleipiises you deem most injurious to true religion 1 
which you and your party have most actively opposed 1 
and which is most under your eye and control ] Heaven 
and earth are in.ived to prevent the .spread of the gospel 
in .\fi ica, thfoUi^h the Colonization .Society; and not a 
whisper i« heard to prevent the inn ease of idolatry in 

. your own land, thiongh u;overnriienlal ()atronnge. 

6. But a laore frlghilul case remains. Reinemiier, that 
you have above one linndied millions of heathen in your 
Indian por^se^sions; — then read ihe noble speech of ihe 
Rev. \V. Campbell, a missionary from Beugalore, de- 



livered at Exeter Hall, at the annual nieeting of 
the Lonrlon Missionary Society. There, fir, yon will 
find positive proof that the horrid system ol Hindoo 
idolatry, in all its crnelf- and eon npliiai, is n|)held, p'nr- 
Uiken of, and made a .■source of gain by the i3lili^h au- 
llnjiilies in Iniiia ! Temples are suppoiled by the f;ov- 
eriiinenl ; priests and dancing women are paid a monthly 
allowance out of the piiblice revenue; magistrates aie 
present and aiding odK-ially at their brutal ceieiuunies; 
niilitaiy officers do their peculiar honors lo llie abmnina- 
ble thing; and British functionaries collect ihe wages of 
iniipiity. And now, sir, what can the eagerness of parly 
zeal hiid, in all ils false allegations against us, eijual to 
the iKiUed deformity of these facts 1 v 

7. Bill pass again to another portion of your wide empire. 
In niullilndes of publications 1 have seen our alleged ne- 
glect of the religions instruction rd' the colored population 
of America, made the basis of insinuations iigainHt the 
sincerity of oiir religious profession. If von will read ihe 
speech (jf Dr. i'hilliji, already alluded to, you will lind ihe 
fidlow ing sentence: * Botenian, a Caflie chief, and olliers, 
have been petitioning me for inissiunaries, by every mes- 
senger through wlioin lliey could convey to me a verbal 
comniniiication, for the last twelve years; <-.nd I have not 
yet been able to send lliein one.' Gracious Heaven 1 
what an account will ihc twenty ihousnnd prolestanl min- 
isieis of (ireat Britain haye to reiuler for the souls of these 
poor Ciiliies, whom so iiianv of thein have foi gotten, lo 
alni.-e their breihren in .America lor negli^cting a popula- 
tion amongst whom a larger proporiion hear the go.-i.iel, 
than of the inhabitanlsot the capiialoflhe British ein|jii('. 

Let us look at Londmi, llie seat of your wealth, power, 
and civili/atioii ; the aboile of your Sovereign; the seat 
of your I'arliaiuenl ; the see of a bU-^lLip, vv hose incinne 
would support a hundred missruiiaries. Listen to what 
the bi.«lio|i says of so much of hi* diocese, as is contained 
in the nu iropolis : ' Tliere are,' says he, * thiriy-lonr par- 
ishes, containing above )U,(J09 soiiLs each, (omiltiiig all 
noliee of those which eonlaiii less,) and in the aggiegate 
1,137,000 souls: liui then; is chmch room for only 101,- 
6S2 — le.-s than one-leiuh of the whole! Allow one church 
Cjv evc'ry 3.000 souls, and 379 churches would be required j 
while in fact there are but Gt) ; or, if consecrated chap- 
els be added, only lOJ.' 'I'his is, above- 1 .00'0,000 s. uls, 
in a single city, ami that city ihe n::\.l of your glory, ullei ly 
iMiprovi.led for by the nation, and the Esiablis:ieJ Church. 
Now, if we should a. Id what is done by dissenters o( ad 
classes, and aild also the de.-titiile of the small parisl;e.-> 
the resuh inight be varied a liiile; but sliil.make llur best 
of it you can, and you are left with nwre [.'eople desliluie 
of iIk; means of grace in Loudon alone, than in all the 
Cniied Stales! If you dviibt ihe.^e slalenients of llie 
Lord Bishop of Loiiilon, consult liie |)roc(H'dirigs id" tlie 
last annual meeting of the city mission; anil llieii pinider, 
whether the hundreds of puuinls scjuaiuleied on Mr. 
'I'liompsoit's trip to the Unite I Slates — and in printing his 
slanders of ihat country — ^and the addiliuiial hnndieds, 
which I sec Dr. Henyh urged llie people of (ilasyovv to 
give him by vvav of ' Tesliinoniat Fund' — might iiol have 
Ireen fully as well Uiid out in &endii.'g the gosjii I to the 
British capilal ! 

Besides, the accusal'mns now nia<!e yonr own, on tiie 
general sul>j;;Cts of slavery, in itself e(nisi(!eretl, and ne- 
glect of the religious in.-tiuction of' the natives — the 
remaining charges which we have been arraigned upon, 
may, to a certain extent, fall umier the general head of 
severity, injustice, and deep-rooled prijnuice against the 
blacks, 'i'hese things may be Iriie, or liny may be false. 
'Ihe statemenls and ev ideiice on both sides are in knicIi of 
die public. Yon have vouched for their irutli, and it 
is not now my design to show the cuDlrary ; but to show 
who they are that aie so ready to magnify real errors, and 
to allege false crimes upon their neigldiors. 

I'raj, sir, were you ever in heland ? If you were. 



Rev. R. J. BrccJ:innd.<!;e''s Letter to Dr. JVardlaiv. 



11 



yoo saw a Ian 1 fertile nnd hr>niitifiil ; a people, Iinnrlsomo, 
iiitolli^ent, an I ;ictive; a cli:n;in' more £i;cni:il lli;in iiny 
other in so lii^li ;i nnrtliern liititiide ; in .<iioi-f, eviTy liiiiiij 
tliHt slinnld inuivo its teeinin!; pnpniation rich, h:ippy, and 
powerfni. I was there. I saw hundreds of people whn 
had nn fixed abodes. I saw lh<> niajoriiy of tlie honses of 
the lower (dasse.s, worse than the slaliles an(i row-!)onses 
in Entjland ; I saw ihonsands in ra^'s ; iuindreds naked ; 
and iunidreis inure naked, except a piece of a siii<,'le old 
girinenl. I looked at tiie tiiird report on liie experlienry 
of a poor law tor Ireland, made l)y order of Parliament, 
and I found that 2,335,000 souls are out of work, have 
nothing to depend on, and ai'C in distress fir tliirtv weeks 
every year. It is a seftleil, indis[Mital)le truth, lliat ons- 
third of the Irish people l)''!j their bread two -thirds of 
every year. .\nd yet enormous (pir.ntities of (Train and 
live stock, and all sorts of provision, are expmted from 
Ireland. An.l vet, in defiance of all this tremendous, lonfj- 
coutinned, and peiiodical sulTerino;, ihpre is no poor law, 
nor anv sort of t;eueral provision by law f )r the poor of 
that island. But there are f)rty-nine regiments of horse 
and f )ot, and a const ibularv force of about erpial magni- 
tude — readv to stay the people's stomachs uilli lead at 
niijht, and steel in ill ! m irninij. 'I'his is the ii.ippv con- 
snmnation of six hundred years of British anth irilv ! — 
And how can you, sir, look any human bein;^ in the (ace, 
and eharije his country with wron<;, till you have strained 
every elTort to redress this vast hfreditary ^nilt ? Or if 
yon fail, how can yon speak, nationallij,\n the hearing of 
earth, or heaven, aliont human wronfjs ] 

10. Look, for the last time, to the vast plains of South 
Africa, wet with the blowii of murdered nations. Read 
the clear and masterly speech of Dr. I'liillip, aheaily twice 
referred to. ' If a traveller who had visiteil that country 
twenty-five years ago, were to take his stand on the banks 
of the Keiska.nma river, and ask what had become of the 
natives whom he saw there on hi-s f)rmer visit; if he took 
iiis stand on the rocks of the Sonda^s river, and lor)ked to- 
wards a eoniury seventy miles in breadth before him, he 
mi^ht ask the same question; if he were to take his stand 
j|o;ain on the Fish river, and then extend his views to Caff- 
raria. he might ask the same cptestion ; and were he to take 
his stand on the Snow mountain, called Graaf Reinet, (he 
WDuld have befirp him a conntrv containing 40,000 scjuare 
miles,) and ask where was the immense concourse he saw 
there twenry-five years ago; no man could tell him where 
they were !' Ask l^ord Glenelir, his Majesty's principal 
Secretary for the colonies, and he will admit that ihe sys- 
tem of treachery, plunder, and butchery, by which these 
brave and upright savages have been wasted in extermina- 
tins; oppression, constitutes perhaps the most degrading (jf 
all the chapters of the history of mankind! It is a cliap- 
ter written in the tears and blood of slaughtered tribes 
— and is hardly yet dry upon the paper that records it for 
the execration of posterity ! It is a chapter that had not 
been fully enacted when you were concocting plans and 
arranging agencies, by which to make illustrious the be- 
nign sway of universal freedom. Justice, and benevolence 
in your Monarch}) — and to brand upon our Republic re- 
proaches which all coming generations could no( eO'ace. 

But why need I multiply particulars'? When these 
things are set right, and you seek from us another list, we 
will say to you concerning your polity, in nearly all its 
parts, things which von will then be better able to bear. 
We will point out how vou may establish real freeilom 
amo"gst yourselves, and therei)y show your acquaintance 
with its sacred pririciples; how you can mike your laws 
just, eepial and humane, and thereby manifest in practice 
your devotion to principles commended for others. At 
present such a proceeding could only irritate; and is the 
more readily forborne, because it is not as an American 
or a republican, but as a christian, my mission brought me 
to you. The a.ssurance, too, that the party with which 
you act is, in point of number.", a \ery small minority of 



the British nation, make." me the more willing to adhere 
to this view of my duty. Indeed it is ch:e(lv because your 
parly has mn(di of its sirenglh in that sect to which I was 
more particularly sent, that it seemed cleaily necessary 
fur me to take part at all in these discussions. 

I readily arhnit that time, patience, sacrifices, and much 
labor, are needfid fir the redress of the evils 1 have point- 
ed out. I know that tlie present generation is not respon- 
sible in such a sense, for most of them, as past generations 
have been. I am convinced that audi iludes of English- 
men deplore, and would gladly remove ihem. I am satis- 
fied that it is by the silent influence of example, and tho 
kind and clear exposition of general principles, rather 
than rude and harsh personal or iiaiional assaults, that w<j 
can do you good, in these or similar cases. And I gladly 
declare my belief, that tho christians of America, as such, 
can and ongKt to hold (diristian intercourse and sympathy 
with the christians of Britain — notwithstanding the Brit- 
ish nation may be responsible in the matters alleged ; and 
that we can and ought to do it — without perpetual vitupe- 
ration and insult, even fir what is true — not to say with- 
out gross perversions of tlie facts and merits of the case. 
Such, sii-, are my views of the subject. I deeply regret 
that yours are so wiilely flilfcrent. And I humbly lieseecli 
you to imagine the whole course of your proceedings and 
arguments — embracing ofcoiirse the mission of Mr. Thomp- 
s in, and his conduct since his return — made ours, and our 
case made yours; and then decide what would by this time 
have been the feel'iigs of your |)eo[-le towards us, if wo 
had treated you as y<iu have treated us"? I declare, in the 
presence of God, my firm belief, that if things go on much 
longer as they have progressed fir the last two years, there 
will not be found on earth men more estranged fnmi each 
other than the professors of religion in the two countries. 
1 have already witnessed the spectacle of a part of the re- 
ligious press in England, urging forward the government 
ot the country to an intervention, if necessary, with arms, 
against the progress of liberty in Texas, upon the false 
and ignorant pietext that the government of the United 
States, uidess prevented by force, would possess itself of 
that country, and introduce slavery there ! The people 
generally of America are long ago roused to the highest 
|)itcli of indignation against your proceedings in this whole 
business. You have now reduced the christians of that 
country to a position, where, if they act with you or ad- 
mit your previous statements or principles — they become, 
on your own showing, infamous! You may now behold, 
in the preceding statement, the posture in which all the 
world, but yourselves, have viewed you during all this ter- 
rible alTair ! 

Was it ignorance of your real condition, or was it ig- 
norance still more gross of ours, or was it national vanity 
anil piejudice, or was it all these unitedly, that impelled 
the aboliticm parly in Britain to pursue the couise they 
have adopted^ It is not my desire to give ofience, and 1 
will not, therefire, attempt to decide. Your party pro- 
fess to have full and accurate iufirmation about us; though 
it is very odd that at your meeting. Dr. Pleugh moved, 
and Mr. Eadie secondeil, and your ' very numerous and 
highly respectable meeiing' unanimously voted, that our 
national conslitution contained a very important principle, 
wdlich is not only not in it at all, but which the very dis- 
cussion you were pronouncing on ex cathedra, proved not 
to be in it ! Well infiruied gentlemen, not to say just 
judges, should i)e more cautious It does not become me 
to .«ay that your (larty are ignurant of the conijition of their 
own Country; but if ihey knew the facts now cfimmeti led 
to their notice, it is not easy t > rec locile lli.-ir si "golar 
disregard of them, will) their rampint liene.olence on the 
other si. le of the water; an! if ihev wein imacq'iainted 
with tlieni, tlif^y had better stay at Jericho till theii' he.u ds 
be grown. Upon the delicate and painful subject of na- 
tional prejudice, it is difficult to speak properly at all; but 
especially so to gentlemen wlioss pa.<sioii lies in surmouii- 



12 



Jlcv. R. J. Brecldnridire's Letter to Dr. IVardlaiv. 



jng nil prpjudire whatevpr. The Jnlin 'Rnll riew?pnper ia benislited heathen for u hose good we were laying plans: ; 
said to repiesent ihe views and feelings of the exneme and the thought of personal advantage, or honor, or enjoy- 
High CiiiiKh and Tory ]:any ; the Rerord is the repulrd mont, to any portion of ourselves, had never place for a 
vehicle fur Low Churrh scntinienis ; the Patriot, 1 am told, moment, nor even ground tor exercise; and, therefore, 
stands in the same relations to the Congregational Dissent- mc must needs he ))rool' against all discriminating threats, 
prs, embracing both Bajitists and Iiidrpeiidents, who ate It is (|nile gratniloiis for tiie sects in England to decline 
generally Whigs and Radicals. The Times, which from receiving our delegates, except they he abolitionists — 
its great abilitv, must always wield a vast intiuence, is which many individuals, and some public meetings have 
considered the organ of the Independent Conservative in- leconiniended — which the Baptists, if I am ri;;hily inforin- 
lerest. 1 am very likely to he mistaken; but I lia\e tried ed, ha\e virtually done — and which seems nothing beyond 
to inform mvself of voiir condition — and that is what I the compass of your argument 



Indeed, this aspect of the case is so very far from the 
one which th.e facts exhibit, that I am greatly surprised 
that wisdom, if not kindness, did not prevent its presenta- 
tion. Tor, I believe no delegate who has gone from Brit- 
ain to America, has been assailed, in public and in pri- 
vate, on any of the great evils at whicli I have hinted in 
this comminiication, as every delegate who has come from 



learn. Be .so good, sir, as to read any cditoiial article in 
cither n( these papers, for ihc last four months, in which 
it was necessary to express opinions or feelings in regard 
to the United States, and \ou will at once catch my pres- 
tiit drift. But to aid such as have neither time nor oppor- 
tunity for such a review, excuse llie f(dlowing sample Iroin 
a late number of the last named [laper : ' In .'•hort, this is 
just the wretched 'colonization scheme,' to which those America to Britain has been assailed on the subject of 
pious slave-owners, the Baptists, Independents, and I'res- slavery. I iielieve, too, yon would search in vain, in 

America, for any man, who had received from any sect 
or institution in Britain, any token of res|)ect or esteem — 
v\hile it will be e(|iially hard to find in IJritain, any man 
amongst any sect to which any delejate from America 
has ever come, who is not indebted to us for all the conse- 
quence he has deii\pd from literary and theological dis- 
tinctions denied to him at home, but bestowed by the 
kinder or more discerning spirit of strangers ! 

For my own part, without intending to commit the 



pious slave-owners, me oaptists, indep 
hvterians of the I'niled Slates have betaken themselves, 
as a ))lagter to their consciences, rank and rotten with hy- 
j)ocrisy ; and though thai lioly American humbug may 
command a congenial support from the canting /.ealots ot 
liberty and iarhes, hallelijahs and horse-whippings. Bibles 
and bruialitv, missions and murders, religious revivals 
merging in sla\e auctions, and love-feasts lenuinating in 
Lytich Taw,' &c. &c. It is but justice to say, that I have 
6pen erjual grossness only in the John Bull, .Tnd in Mr. 



Thompson's speeijies, to some of which latter this has a folly of depreciating a great nation, I am obliged to say, 

most suspicious reseinblanre. It is my duty also to declare, that the thing which surprised me most in England, was 

which I do with sincere pleasure, that the present Foreign the uiii>ersal ignorance which prevails in regar<l to Amer- 

Secreiary of the King (Lord Paluierston,) and the journals ica, while the thing which griexed me most, \\as the 

which speak the sentiments of the government, are by far almost equally universal prejudice against lis. 

better infirmed, and more candid in regard to American You do not know us. You have little sympathy w\x\\ 

atVairs in general, tlian any others whose published views us. You do us wrong in all your thoughts. In regard to 

have come to my knowledge. all these points, I believe there is but one mind amongst 

I may, in the end, be permitted to suggest, that perhaps all Americans, not being abolitionists, who have been in 

too much has been said in relation to the existing ainl England, And if you have been pleased to express the 

prospective intercourse between the churches of the two hope that I would return to America materially chaiig- 

countries; and possibly too much conseciucnce attached to ed in many of my views and principles, I have only to say 

it by in\self, as well as others. 1 have uttered the senti- in reply, that so profound is my sense of the false estimate 

nients of those who sent me, in their name; and endeavor- you put on every thing national, as between us and you, 

ed to enfjrce tliein by such considerations as appeared to that my visit to England has opened a new source of dc- 

me just and appropriate. Biit I ain not aware of any votioii, in gratitude to God, that he permitted your ances- 

thiiig having traiis|iired which vx'oiild justily the supposi- tors to pei>ecufe ours out of it. So little impression of 

inn ihnt .America, or her churches, looked for any advan- the kind you expect, has all that 1 have been forced to 

^ige which was not likely to be reciprocal, in being per- hear in England against my country and my breth- 

/litted to hold this intercourse. Still less can I conceive ren produced, that when I return again to embrace those 

liial any one can be justified in demanding of our churches, beloved men, I shall revere them more, as 1 measure 

fts .condili ins of it, not only adhesion to moral principles them by all 1 ha\e known elsewhere; and when my 

which we reject, but the procurement of political changes weary feet touch that sacred land, 1 shall lejoice in the 

which are impossible. Yet, if I comprehend the drift of very ' dust and stones thereof — as more precious than the 

all British abolitionism, it stcjps not a whit short of this. j;eai Is of all lands beside ! 

, If was the world, more than America, we sought to If I may not call myself your fellow-christian, without 

t)enefit. We had no purpose of attempting a revolution ofience, I can at least sign myself your fellow -smner, 
in Biitiiin, nor did it enter into our conceptions that a rev- 
olution in America, of the most terrible extent, would be 

'■;'.ated to us, in terras hardly supportable. It was the Paris, Aug. 20, 1SS6, 



R. J. BRECKINRIDGE. 



C. STUART'S REMARKS ON R. J. BRECKINRIDGE'S LETTER. 



[From the Fririid of IMiin.] 

Mr. Fditou — III the New York Oh'prver, of Satiirdny, 
]5ih Oclolicr, 1 fiiid n leller from the Kcv. R.J. Breckin- 
ridge til Rev. R. Wiirdlnw, iiilrixliiceil willi high eiifdinia, 
by the e<liiorof the Ol'-scrvor ; niid as a pergonal friend of 
Dr. Wartll.Tw and of Mr. 'J'iioiiipsdii — ns a I'liiish subject 
— as a lover of holv and impartial lil>ertv everywhere; 
and nil iiiironipromisiiig eiieinv to the forced servitude oj 
the iruil Ileus poor, I beg to offer throiigli you lo the pub- 
lic, the followins;- observations on tlial letter: and tliis I 
do, not lo a.ssflii ftlr. Hreckiniidjje, but to defend Uie truth, 
which he appears to me to have assailed, as well as lo 
admit the iruili, where he appears lo ine lo have asssert- 
ed it. 

Mr. B.'s letter contains several promincnl propositions, 
viz. : 

1st. Various items respectiiiif the rriines of EiiK'niid. 

2i)d. Air. B.'s views respi't I iiiij British ijjiiorance, of 
the actual condition and tharacter of the people of the 
Unili^d States. 

3rd. His estimate of .Mr. G. Thompson. 

4lh. His views of Texas. 

5th. His views ofchurch fellowship. 

6th. His views of the revolution contemplated, as lie 
says, in the United States by the Abolitionists. 

7th. His appreciation of the views of the British aboli- 
tionists rcspectincr the United Stales. 

8:h. His patriotism. 

9ih. His views of United States' slavery. 

1. Various items respecting' the crimes of Ensland. 
These aie introduced apparently at Dr. Wardlaw's in- 
vitation, as quoted by Dr, Breckinridge; and as far as 
sustained by tacts, I lijaok him tor them, whatever may 
lidvft lieen llie otject with v\hich he has introduced them. 
1 deeply feel, and fully acknowledge, that the crimes of 
my country are her deadliest foes ; and that the man who 
exposes her crimes the most strikingly, so as most efl'ec- 
tuidly to tear to pieces all complacency or rest in them, is, 
in that resjiect, my country's greatest benefactor. But 
let ine iioi be misunderstood. Tlic crimes which Mr. 
Bieckinridje enumerates, are, slaverii as it vet exists at 
the Cape of Good Hope, in the British West ludres, and 
he Blight have added in the Maniitius ; 2d. Domestic 
slavery in the East Indies, especially in BengaJ ; 3d. The 
existence of Popery in Lower Canada, aiul grunts of pub- 
lic money made to support it ; 4-th. The grant of £8928 
for the Roman Catholic College at Maynooth; 5th. The 
nefarious gain drawn from the horrid system of Hindoo 
Idolatry, by the British authorities \(\ India ; (1th. The neg- 
lect of the Cafifie population in South Africa, by the 
Churches of England; 7tli. The religious destitution of 
London; 8lh. The want of Poor Laws in Ireland; 9th. 
The base and bloody slaughter of the CaflTre tribes in the 
South. With whoever else deprecates and abhors 'hem, 
I deprecate and abhor these things : the act of proclaiming 
and exposing them is love, not enmity to Britnin. Of all 
these things, my country, as far as slie is guilty of them, 
must repent or perish. When 1 contemplate these things 
• n/j/, I blush and hang my head to think myself nn Eng- 
lishman ; and the more, tiie common sense of unperveited 
yature, and the hotter and brighter exa.Tiple of other na- 
«ioHS, can be boldly and frankly held up to sliame, or to 
allure us to rHpenlanre. the more will I bless God. But. 
in staling then». it should be stated, that slavery, iniscalled 
appreiiticesliip, a« it yet exists at the Cape of Good Hope, 
ihe .Mnui-itius, ami ihc BrilishWcst Indies, though as crim- 



inal ns ever in its piinciple* is impoilanily mitigated in 
practice, ihe slaves by law lieing allowed one quarter of 
their time to themselves, being secured Iroiii being sold 
awav from their aboiles — being secured from personal a- 
huse at the discretion of the master — having their wives 
and children secured lotliem — being secured in their right 
to moral and intellectual cultivation, and to worship God 
according lo their own consciences, &c. ; and the fireg* 
of slavery, by which they are yet so iinnnely and wicked- 
ly insulted and oppressed, being condemned lo final dis- 
solution on the 1st August, 1838, for the domestic, and on 
the 1 St August, 184t). forlheliekl hands. Besides, it biioii Id 
be reinemliered, that Antigua and Bermudas, slave colo- 
nies like the others, until Isi August. 1831-, on that blessed 
day. became Ihe theatres o\ imviedinte ci7id thorotisrh eman- 
ciptition, at home, under law by the laivful authorities, Ihe 
slaveholders themselves ; and have since held, and con- 
tinue to hold up to the lair e^e of the world, one of lisose 
bright and beautiful relutallons, with which hisloiy i.s 
graced, ottiie cruel, the crazy, and the guilly plea of dan- 
ger, td'ditficiillv, or ol loss, should tyrants repent ; imme- 
diately abolish their nefarious system; and at once sub- 
siitiite' laws and prncticei worthy of free and generous 
minds, fur laws and practices worthy only of feJons and 
[)iraies. 

Ill relation to the East Indies, il should bo known, that 
wlioii any such outrage is perpetrated against a slave, as 
to induce him to ccmiplain, tlie British courts make no 
distinction between him and his master ; and if he choose 
lo leave his master, they allow oJ no compulsion in caus- 
ing him to return. iNo white man can hold a slave. 

The existence of the Catliolic Church in C:inada, Ire- 
land, &CP.. is bevond the control of the government, as il 
is in the United Slates ; the public money given lor her 
support is a vice of the governmenl. The neglect of the 
heathen, both at home and abroad, is a giant sin of the 
church in all its denominations. The want of poor laws 
in Ireland, involves a question of which I am not master ; 
but I do not, I cannot doubt, that we are under great guill 
in relation lo the Irish poor. The slaughter of the fron- 
live tribes by us, the Bushmen, Caffres, <fcc., in South 
Africa, is, beyond expression, infamous and criminal; 
and bears a strict resemblance to the conduct of ihe L'niled 
Slates in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, <!cc., towards the 
Indian nations. 

Great Britain's crimes, however, will not sanctify the 
crimes of the United Stales. Eve did not do wisely in 
striving lo throw the blame otT herself, by accusing the 
serpent — nor Adam, by stating his wile's transgression-^ 
nor Mr. B., by detailing England's crimes. What would 
be the result, if sinners^ instead of laying the rebukes and 
warnings of the Gospel to heart, should speak peace lo 
iliemselves by exposing the faults of the church. We see 
it. I say not this lo cover up England's guill. I have 
acknowledged, and do with shame and pain acknowledge 
il, for il is great — tl is inexcusable — il threatens the coun- 
try of mv allegiance, and of my heart with destruction. 
Blessed be the voice, even though it were an enemy's, 
which shall waken my country lo repentance. But Oh, 
that Grace may forbid, that another people, less dear to 



* All gradualism, or niiligalion of sin, is as directly a 
breach of the Divine law, as the most atrocious disobedi- 
ence. The amount differs, but Ihe spirit is the same. Goil 
sanctions no continuance of transgression even for a mo- 
nieiil. He commands us not to mitigate iniquity, but ut- 
terly to aboli»li it. 



14 



C. Stuart^s Remarl:^ on R. ./. Brccl;inri(Igc''s Letter. 



iiic only than my own, should sooih i:sclf to <lcslniciion 
by my couuliy's crimes. 
2. Mr.C.'s views respociisii^Ijriiish ignorance of llie aciual 
colulilion anil tliaracUT ol the |n-o)il(^ of llii; Unilcil Slal.-s. 
iSir<ui''e i^Moriiiice ! whoii tliat cnudilion and thai charac- 
ter are ic'vealcd lo llie world I'y llic horrible lad ihal oiio 
sixlli part of llie whole nalive jiopnlalion of ilie Uniled 
Slates are ouilawed without cvon ihi' impiiiaiion of a 
<;niiie, and when snch men as Mr. lJreckiiiri(lj,'e can stand 
up in'En!,'land and deny or exiiise this their country's 
L'uilt. ' l3r. Heugh moved/ says Mr. B., ' that our consli- 
(uuon contains aVery iinporianV pr:nciple, which is not in 
il at all,' &.C. NViial is lliis piinciple .' why, ihal liberty 
is ihe inalienable ligiii of all n.en. Whai a spectacle ! 
The patriotic .Mr. B. den\in; that the conslilnlioii of the 
country of his idolatry embraces this glorious principle ; 
and Dr. llens^h, a'.<ainsl whom he inveighs, as siigmaiiz- 
in" his couniry, imputing this glorious principle to the 
toTislilUtioii of the United Slates. Uelievc Mr. IJ.. and 
ihe constiintion of the United Slates, bnasiiny; of repnhli- 
caiiisin and liberty, is desliinte of the luudamenlal princi- 
ple of all irnc liberty and republicani>ni, viz., the equal 
n'dil of all men to life, liberty, and the jmrsuil of happi- 
ness. I'.elieie Mr. II. and the constitution of the United 
Stales is rich with this o|„rious «cm of eternal truth and 
Jove. Yet, ftlr. U. <lreaiiis thai he is glorifxing his coun- 
try, and thai Dr. H. is slanderins; her. How u(te:i, alas! 
CO such friends become our worst foes. 'I'lie coiisliliition 
of the United Stales is a puMic document and m.iy be 
read bv every body. Taken in ronnection with the de- 
•claration of independence, as llie Gl.isjfow Society doubt- 
lessly took it. and as the peopU; of the Uniled Slates used 
to lake It, until slavery t.ui^lil them that the ghirioiis boon 
of holv and impartiai liberty, was a rheloriral Nourish, 
nothiii'j caa be more clearly a fan ihan Dr. Heugh's pro- 
positimi. Taken by itself, the evidence, though less pal- 
pable, is nol materially less plain. Give nie. sai<) Aichi- 
rnides, a fulctum, and I will lilt the world. In tlieconsli- 
tuiion of the United Slates, we have a fulcrum. Liberty 
needs none other for the peaceful triumph of her glorious 
cause. All that is wanted, is what Britain wanted 70 
years ago, the cleansing of her laws from the sophistries 
of opinron, the blindness of prejudice and the abuses of 

precedent. . ,- • , o. ■ • ■ 

'I'he fact is. thai uniil lately the United Slates had im- 
posed U|)on the world and herself, under the veil of her 
Consiiuiiion and her pride, and that England, at an iin- 
parlial distance, judging fairly according to irresislable 
evidence, has been rescued by the practice of the United 
S'ates, e.xtensively from 'he delusion ; while the majority 
of the pei>ple of ilie U. Slates, with such as .Mr. B. among 
Ihem. still cling to their idol — shutting their ears and 
spuniiii" every one who will not bow down with them and 
cry ' G'real is- Diana of the Ephesiaiis.' ' Glorious and 
liappv is our slaveholding republic, the land of the brave 
and the home of the slave! ' Lovely and holy are her 
siavehoKiing churches, ' the very dust and stones thereof,' 
more precious to us republican and Christian slaveholders, 
than the pearls of the whole land beside ! ' 

3. IMr. B.'i views of .Mr. G. Thompson. Mr. B. speaks 
ofMr. T.'s flagitious conduct. What was il apart from 
the base and shlimeless slanders which ignorance, preju- 
dice and wickedness have pro()agaied .' In the Uniied 
Slates il was, in connedion with many of the noblest 
minds in the United Slates, and sustained by ' persons' 
as Mr. B. declares, and most justly declares them 'of 
the utmost respectability, e.xcellence and piety in Britain ' 
with a hero's boldness and a Christian's love, showing lo 
his sister land her sin, and calling her lo repentance, not 
in order lo destroy, but lo save; and in England, treating 
one of the proude'sl and most insolent of his enemies, as a 
o-enileman and a man.— Strange flagitiousness ! But the 
clue to all this is. that the man whose moral sense is per- 
verted by slaverv and by iu chivalrous sympathies, can 
see beauty only" in his horrible idol; and virtue only in 
those who bow down and worship with him. 



4. Mr. B.'s views of Texas. He speaks of tlie progress 
of liberiy in 'I'exas, apparently as connected vviili the 
revolution now allein[)iing there — luit the cnily liberiy 
songlii by iliat revoluiion. is tebel'ioii the most nelarious, 
and liberty lo keep slaves — to restore the curse of slavery 
lo a land where slavery iiad l>eeii abolished ; and to open 
a new marksi for the ei, slaved iiiiiabitants of the United 
Stales. 

5. Mr. B.'s views of church (Vllowship. They have in- 
deed all ihe chivalry of slavery in lliem. If I mistake 
not. Mr. n. thinks thai the sliivi-liolders of the United 
Slates, if professing Chri>tianily, wiiliont ceasing to be 
slavidioldets. shoulil be recrivetf and relainetl in llie coni- 
■niiiiion of the Chri»lian church; and of etnirse, as a gen- 
erous man, thai he would be equally magnaninioiis lo- 
waids foreign slaveholdfrs. Bui what aie slaveholders ? 
I spe.ik generally : Tln-y arc a body of men, ihe nn'sl 
jealous on earth of their own rights ; living in the midst 
of republican principles, and with no external fellers on 
them. Yel liiey are willfidly r'luinU-rers of the most sa- 
cred of all proprrlies ; so llial he who steals a ihousand 
b.igs of gi.UI is innoceiil c<iinpared lo ihrm. They are 
dciiber.ili-ly and sysleniaiicallv [>liindi'r(rs ol the bberty.il e 
person il seciitiiy, the titne ihe labor, ihe domeslic, soc ial, 
moral and religious rishis, by law. by themselves {levis- 
ed, enacied and perpetrated, of the giiillless poor around 
Iheni, their Icllow citizens, and their Icllow men ; as much 
and as loyal .Americans as they are; and far less guilty 
than iliey, towards God and their country. V«'t Mr. B. 
thinks, that lhei.e niPii ought lo lie retained in (,'hristian 
communion. I cannot wonder, indeed that a consisleiil 
member rd" a slaveholding republic, and a slaveholding 
chuicli. should ihink so — Init llie chnrcli must tear like a 
inosl venomous serpent from her bosom, all snch seiiti- 
niiMils. Iiefiire she can in truth and in deed become the 
church of Him, who fame to preach ' lilierty lo ihe cap- 
lives, and Ihe opening of the prison lo Ihem that are bound,' 
who cries, ' Wash you — make you clean —put away the 
evil of your doings from before mine eyes — cease lo do 
evil — learn lo do viell — seek judgment — relieve llie op- 
pressed — judge the fatherless — plnad for Itie widow ' — 
wlio asks, ' Is nol lliis the fast that 1 liave chosen ; lo 
loose the bands of wickedness ; lo undo the lieavy bur- 
dens ; and lo let the oppressed go free ; and that ye break 
every yoke? ' who proclaims, ' Woe unto him that build- 
elh Ins house by mrighleousness, aiul his chambers by 
wrong — who iiselh his neighbor's service without wagfs, 
and givelh him not for his work ' — who comprises all his 
holy and l)lessed law in two great Cfmimandments — ' Thou 
shall love ihe Lord thy God with all iliy heart, and mind, 
and soul, and strength, and ihy neigiibor as thysell.' Wert; 
the church, the church; that is. were ihe church what il 
ought lo be, she might less inconsislenily cherish in her 
bosom an impeniteiil drunkard, or an impenilenl thief, 
than an impenitent slaveholder of any nation or of any 
kind ; but especially an impenitent republican and Chrit- 
tian slaveholder ! In Young's strong language, snch a 
ehiircli may be called, ' Guilt's blunder and the loudest 
laugh of hell ' ; not uniil light shall be changed into darkness, 
liberiy into licentiousness, justice into injusiice, ihe pure 
and impartial love of Christ into the supercilious and in- 
solent benevolence of tyrants, and universal and holy love 
to man into a proud and partial idolatry of one class, min- 
gled with insane and atrocious iniqnily towards another, 
distinguished from ihe first only by being less guilty — not 
lill then, can any man, in wh(uii ihe spirit of God lives 
and reigns, harmonize with such synipa'hies ; and il is 
only in so far as the church of Christ rejects such sympa- 
thies altogether, holding them up to the contempt aiT<l in- 
dignation of the world, that I can see in her an\ thing bel- 
ter tlian a whited sepulchre ; beauteous indeed. when vii w- 
ed al a distance, ' inn when fairly e.xamined. lotiiid lo fie 
full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.' There is 
nothing for which I bless the God of all grace and mercy 
more, than for the resolutions lo which .Mr. B. arlverls, of 
llie Christians in England to hold communion no longer 



C ^tuart^s Rcmeirks on R. J. Brcclcinrids-cJs Lclier. 



15 



uiili tlie abominations of prejudice and slavery ; nor can 
1 sec ill liny oilier leaturc ol llis glorious providence, a 
ground ol hope so ricli and lull of appro.iclinig salvalion 
to iliis still iiiihrotlierly and ungodly woild. 

6. iAlr. li.'s views of tim leKilulion, conlenipl.itcd, as 
lie says, in llie Unitod ISlales, liy tlie Al'oliiionisls. Mr. 
IJ. says, ' Nor did it enter into our conceptions, tlial a lev- 
olulion III America, ol the in<isl fearful extent, would be 
dictated to us, in leniis hardly suppoit.dile.' IJe is here 
speaking, 1 know, directly ol tin; Iwilisli chinches ; linl 
tile scope ol his argument seems to mc to include all the 
(fiends of impartial liberty ; and I thereloie lake them as 
applying to the aiiti-sla\ery society al large. Jl WKnig, 
he will coriect me. 

Il taken in relation to the British chiirelics. what is this 
terrible levolution, which Mr. 15. abhois ? It is the puri- 
lying of the American churches, from the guilt and curse 
of slavery I I ! And whiit iire the scaiTi^hj siipporiable 
terms, in which this ttriilde revolution is dictated ? A 
(rank and solemn waining, in biotherl}' love, thai impciii- 
lent perseverance in this atrocious system of all possible 
iniqniiy, must exclude from church lellowship ! ! ! 

ll taken in relation to the A. S. Society at large, the 
enlightened Iriends of impartial liberty and law, uhat is 
the revidution wliich the}' seek and desire? It is, simply 
the substitution by the tau-J'nl ajithorities, oi liherltj luidei 
law lor slaveiij by law — ol justice (or injustice — ol undis- 
sembhng and iniparii;il lovi-, f«r the insolent, supercili- 
ous, and hypocriiical condescensions of pride — it is the 
expunging ol had laws, and ihe universal extension of 
good laws — it is the treating of innocent men, like inno- 
cent men , and of culprits like ciilprils, after fair trial and 
conviction — it is securing to every American citizen, lil/- 
trty. personal prolectioii, ai>d the. pursuit oj happiness, by 
la«s worthy ol a great, free and magnanimous people, in- 
stead of the present legalized system of shameless \ io- 
lence and Iraud. And this, by the lawlnl authorities. By 
Congress, in the District of Columbia ; by the Legislature 
of Viigin:a, in Virginia; by ihe Legislature of N Caroli- 
na, in iN, Carolina, &c. &c. &.c. And by what means do 
the '■nlighiened friends of impartial law ami lii.erlv, the 
A. S. tjocieiy, seek this noble object? i^iniply Inj the 
truth, ur^ed and reiieraieil, and urged again, t\ui\ again, 
and again, in love, « ithont fear or lavor, without compro- 
inise or he>itanc_\- ; shunning in declaring it, no part of Ihe 
Counsel ol God : the piinciple of inimeiliale and cordial 
duly, v\hich God has laid as an extirpating axe at the root 
of all evil, their principle; and the love of Christ shed 
abroad in their hearts, and emaijaling in all acilve, hole, 
generous, impartial and enlightened benevolence to lb ir 
tedow men, their companion and their spur all the wav. 
And by what means do they thus urge the truth in love ? 
Clandestinelv ? No! Riot'ously ? N« ! Illegaly ? No ! 
Unl.isvlnlly? No I How, ihen ? Openly— Peaceably— 
Legally — Lawfully. By ihe piil()il, ilie press, the mail, 
ih« lecture room ! In steamboats, canal boats, hotels ! 
On the rail road, in the stage, al the bar, in courts of jus- 
lice, at home and alirtiad, every where, with decorum, 
paiience, firmness, kindnt^ss and decision, watching op- 
porluniiies lo • open their mouths lor the dumb, lo j:idge 
riuhieou^ly, and lo plead the cause of the opiiressed and 
poor ; ' bearing insiilis,meeiiiig danger, and br,n in«^ death 
Willi praseilnl equanimity; niiawed by slander and iin- 
seduced by smiles ! Tins, in laci. is terrible to Satan and 
his millions only. Why should il be terrible to Mr. 15., 
ofwhoin, notvviilislauding his preseni deep and fearful de- 
lu>ion, mncli evidence testifies beller thing> ! Or, is it 
unreasonable that a Christian church shonhl cut from its 
coinmniiinii die oppiessois of the gndilcss |)oor ? or that 
free and C^lirisiian men, under the segis of ihe Consliiuiifm 
of ihe United Slates, should frankly and earneslly plead 
for iiii(i,ulial liberty and law ? yei t'his is the whole of ihe 
oirjiK-e of the abolitionists. And what if ihev do il, at 
li nes, ill nncourtcous terms I When felons set a house on 
lire; when a man is Irampliiig on inv brother, en^l.l vino- 
his body, and as far as he can, putting out ilu-- litjlu of his 
soul ; when an enlightened republic is liugging slavery in 



ils liosom ; and a Clirislian church is using its neighbor's 
service without wages, giving him no (air eqn i\ alenl lor 
his Work, but biiihiing ils house by uni ighteousness, and 
ils churches by wrong — must we smile sweellv upon the 
the ag;;iessors, and beg them for very gentility's sake, lo 
be so good, if they please, as to desist from Iheir chi\al- 
ric inic|uily ! ! or, with all the pungency of God's eternal 
truth, gushing out frcnn hearts of love, uncover the sin and 
cry • tiion art the man 1 ' 

Let the revolution which aliolitionists desiie lie accom- 
plished, and what shall we have 1 A nation of freemen^ 
instead of a nation of tyrants and slaves. A cliuicli do- 
ing justly, loving mercy, and walking luimlily with God, 
instead of" a chnrcli practic'ing and e.scusing the most en- 
ormous iniquity, ^^'e shall have safely, instead of dan- 
ger; all interests being harmonized, by the extension 
over all, of just and impartial laws, instead of the most 
inomentou.s interests of two great ('lasses of the people being 
ke|jt at drawn daggers, by the conlinnance of laws the 
most iniquil(nis and base, \\'e shall lia\e the undissem- 
bliiig love of manly afiection, instead of the sepereilioiis 
condescension of lordly benevolence. We shall have 
adniiration, gratitude, and afiection, instead of contempt, 
indigntition, and revenge. \'.'e shall lia\e willing labor 
instead of/orced labor; industry instead of indolence, and 
honesty instead of theft. And by what medium 1 By the 
medim of die lawful authority, the slaveholders themselves; 
then no longer slaveholders ! no longer idolizing their 
own rights, and trampling upon the equally sacred rights 
of others, sa(Med like llieir own ! What a horrible revo- 
lution, to be sure, when the oppressors of the poor, repent- 
ing and doing works meet for repentance, shall become 
the benefactors of the poor! and to I'enionstrate with 
them frankly in love, to warn them of their guilt and dan- 
ger, and to call them to immediate and coidial repent- 
ance, oh, how bitteity insulting ! More .seriously; at the 
great day of final decision, oh, how will the im|ieiiilent 
slaveholder curse the friends as he deemed them, and as 
they called themselves, who smoothed his way lo the op- 
pressor's grave ! 

7. Mr. B's approbation of the views of the British ab- 
olitionists respecting the United States, Mr. B. says ' the 
thing which surprised me most was the universal igno- 
rance which prevails with regard lo America — while the 
tiling which grieved me most, was the almost ec|nally 
universal prejudice against us.' Now, omitting oilier 
topics, as not being relevant to our present subject, let us 
enquire into the truth of these afilirmatives, in relation to 
slavery and prejudice, as tliey now exist in the United 
States. 

It is unquestionably true, that a great part of the Brit- 
i.sh population know nothing of either. Some of the 
noblest of the yeomanry of New England are in the same 
predicament. They have heard of the people of the 
United Slates, as being a liec people, and tlify believe 
them (iee ! They have heartl that the United States is a 
real re))u!)lic, and tiny believe that it is a real republic. 
They may have read its Constitution, and they find not a 
word in it even hinting at slavery. They know that it \b 
a great mixlme of many nations and of all colors, but . 
they know nulhiiig of the aristocracy of color which char- 
acterizes it. They know that it is the home of foreigners 
of iill descriptions; and they have never heard of the 
desperate oppression vvherewilh it is grinding to destruc- 
tion one-sixth part of its ow.i iiatixe, guiltless population. 
But this is |dainlv not the igncaance lo which Mr, B, 
alhrles. ' J 

It is unquestionably true, that the anti-reform aristocra- I 
cy of England, though weil-infornied of these things, \et 
are extensively ignorant of them, IIow 1 Why, as the 
man in darkness, who keeps his eyes firmly closed, even 
though the sun is pouring all his light around him ! Evei> 
as churchmen can defend slavery from scripture ! Even 
as repubiians can boast of republicanism and liberty, yet 



16 



C Stuart^ s Remarks on H. J. Breckinridge^ s Letter. 



keep slaves ! Even as law can be perverted to purposes 
of oppression ! even as lo\e can lu; plt-adod against ini- 
mediately treating man like man ! Even as Mr. B. can 
be i"n!)raiu of tlie two prominent features wliicli distin- 
guishes his country above ail other lands, viz.: slavery in 
its peculiarly concentrated atrociousness, — and the preju- 
dice of one sUin against another skin! It is truly said, 
ihal none are so blind, as they that will not see! But 
this plainly is not the ignorance to which .Mr. li. refers. 

And what does he refer to] Why, the blindness and 
i)rejiidice, as he deems them, of the eidighlened reform 
unil anti-slavery spirit of Ureal Britain — blind, because it 
will not .«ee through the medium of an apologist lor op- 
pression ! ))rpjudi(ed, because it cannot think white a 
more honorable color than black or brown, or yellow or 
red; and the lineage of the wrong-doers, u more virtuous 
))arentage than the lineage of the sutTerers of wrong ! If 
this be ignorance and ])ivjudicu — and this is apparently 
what Mr. B. means — then Ciiiat Britain, as f.tr as it 
knows any thing truly of the real condili<jn of the Lnited 
Stales, is full of it. Yes — multitudes in Great Britain 
have read, and ever-increasing multitudes are read- 
in" the Constitution of the United Stales, fogelhcr with 
the dreadful coniniciitary upon it of the practice of the 
United States, ami in tliis lii;ht they are itarniug that 
what seems to «j»g- of liberty, tcai/A with oppre.-sion. 
They have learned with wonder and with horror, that 
one-siKth of the wlicde native population of the Uiiilcl 
Slates arc slaves, in the most abject cunduion of legalized 
despotism, 'i'hey have learned that the cliui rla ;, of the 
United Stales, excepting the Uuaker and the Covenanter, 
are slaveholiimg churches. 'I'liey have learned id'.Mr. B/, 
boin" one of their most forward teachers, that the minis- 
ters of the United Stales as a body, sustain or escii.^e it. 

They have been told, that the Coiistiiulion of the UiiiieJ 
States must not be read, as it reads, but must be so read, 
as to make it, as bad as the practice of the United Slates J 
the Constitution clandestinely, and the practice openly, 
supporting the mosi insolent and intolerable oppression. 
They have found that there is an aristocracy ol color in 
the 0. States more base and brutal, than the aristocracy 
of hereditary rank in Europe— and they have not been 
able to shut their ears, or their eyes, or their hearts, to 
these tremendous facts — such is "their ignorance ! such is 
their prejudice ! Mr. R. and his coadjutors, would call 
them wise and impartial, if with him they could excuse 
the Juggernauts of the U. States, slavery m\A prejudice'.! 
if they could trample without remorse upon their brother, 
liecause they have wronged him ! and geutcely assent to 
the dogma," that ' might makes right;' that civilized, re- 
publican and Christian people, without crime, may con- 
tinue perpetrating crimes, which, when perpetraled by 
heathen nations or by kingly governmenu, justly cover 
tliein with reproach and guilt. 

8. Ml. B."s painotisin. ' 'I'lion shall not hale thy broth- 
er in thine he;ut: llxiu shall in any wise rehuke thy 
neighbor, and not siifler sin upon him.' Lev. xi.v, 17.— 
Why, it is niv very love for iny couulry, says .Mr. B., that 
forbuls me to rehuke her — or. if 1 reliuke her, il commands 
rtic to rebuke her m terms so civil or so uiuneaiung, aiul 
with excuses so prctiy and plausible, that my r'^hukcs 
siiall he free from all olTencc — and as to nol sutrernig sin 
vpon her. that's oul of the question — Icannol help ii — be- 
sides her sin is so invclernie, allliongh it is not her lault, 
that her Union-loving sons vvill lear llie Union lo pieces, 
unless 1 either lei her idol sins alone, or sweetly excuse 

them. 

9. Mr. B.'s views of United States' slavery. 

As lar as I can understand liim, he thinks there is crime 
in it but that there are no criminals ; or if criminals, that 
thev deserve our compassion and not onr rejirolialion ; 
thai they are rather unroriunate than guilty, that our ten- 
der ami respectful symjjnlliies are due to tliem ; mir con- 
tempt to the suflferers on wliom they are trampling; and 
«ur indignation, to those alone who are boldly, in love, 



vvariiing ihem of their sin and danger, and calling Ihem 
to repentance wiihoul delay or reserve. 

But ran ihere be crime, withoui criminals ? Can len- 
der and respecilul sympathies be due to llie doers of 
Wrong I contempt lo tlie sulTerers of wrong ! and indigna- 
tion to the advocates of righteousness and lo»e ? 

What are the fads 7 

.More than 'JOO years ago, a Pirale brought a cargo of 
slaves into James lliver, and offered ihein lor sale ; some 
Virginian farmers bought them. Was there any moral 
dilTerence between ihe seller and the buyer ? 15<ilh alike 
were saiiclioiied. not commanded, by the laws o( the coun- 
try, and boih alike >*ere breaches of the law ol tiod. 'i"hi» 
piratical tratlic continued until the revolution ; some of 
ihe Slates, reinonstraiing against its e.rlerual branch, hut 
interiMlly. praciicing wiihout shame, the same abomina- 
lioii. In \l'o3. Ihe bi<lependeiice of Ilia United Slates 
was arknowleilged by (.ireai Britain. 'J'lie prcieiit Con- 
stilulioii was adopted in \~31, and ratified ihe ensuing 
vear. The first session of tleneral Government, or of the 
Congress, was hehl in New 'i'ork, in llii'J. 

At the acknowledgment of their Independence, the 
Stales tvere fre<; lo firm .separate Governments, or to u- 
ilite in one ; and lo adopt, without icslrainl, vvhatcver kind 
of ti'overnment ihcy chose. 'J'hc number of slaves Ixne 
alxmt tile same proportion to the v\li(de population, as it 
docsslill; that is, about 1-6. Slaves anil freemen alike 
had f night for Independence; and no barrier bevond iho 
will of the people, exisleil lo the extension of iinparlial 
liberty. Slavery was deliberately retained ! But why 1 
OfneVessily] No! What is imtrally wrong, as the op- 
pression ol" the guiltless poor, iKver can bi; necessary ! 
Why, then ! For power ! A|)parcnt siren^'lh or mural 
rectitude j union and power, or impartial liberly and law, 
were offered to the ne>v* sovereign [K-ojile ! With uvidily 
by some; with various rcJuctanie by oiliers; (most rel.ict- 
antly of the original 13 Stales, by llhode l>l.iiid,) union 
and power, were preferred lo liberty ami liiw; apparent 
strength lo moral reclilude! and tite United States, of 
ihrir own free, (h-lilwralc choice, gcllled down into a slave- 
holding llepublic ! They have since enjoyed nearly fifty 
years of uncontrolled legi>l.ilion ; and thty deliberately 
keep lheii>selveg a i«laveholdiiig Republic, still. Is this Ji 
crime? Undoubtedly; and of the highest stamp ! or, 
rather, a combination of ihe worst crimes — Hypocrisy, 
sellisliiie.=s, avarice, lust of power, ingratitude and injus- 
tice combining to form a sy.etem, full of incest, adultery, 
finiication, roliln-ry, iinpaiience, pride, insolence, liot,' 
iiisirbonlination and murder ! 

Here we have the crime. Cut, says llie obTCrvcr, laud- 
in" Mr. B., there are no criminals, because ' at ilic time 
of the firmalion of the constitution of the U. .States, we 
were 13 distinct and independent sovereignties, each bav- 
in" a perfect gorernment of its own; ' Ijecau.-e ' the con- 
Eliluliun of the U. Stales is very liiile more than a treaty 
of alliance offensive and defensive, with a permanent com- 
mercial treaty superadded — ihe objects of the framers be- 
ing lo leave the original governments with their powers as 
nearly perfect as possible,* and ' this feature of the consti- 
tution "ives universal satisfaction,' &c. Stc. ! ! ! .Admira- 
ble logic ! lliat is, when 13 robbers, each distinct and in- 
dependent, with a distinct goveriimenl of his own, form a 
treaty of alliance, oflensive and defensive, with a perma- 
nent commercial treaty superadded, their object being lo 
leave each other's power of robbing as nearly perfect as 
possible; and where this feature of their union gives uni- 
versal i»atisfaclion ; then, though robbery continues wrong, 
the robbers who commit robbery are guiltless ! ! ! ' Pray 
spare the person but expose the vice,' says Mr. B. and Win 
party. ' What,' indignantly reply Geo. Thompson and 
liis. "' not expose the sharper, but the dice ! ' 

There are two or three glaring and tremendous errors 
on this subject, in the U. Stales. Slavery, they say, is a 
crime ; but no body is guilty of it ; except, perhaps, tlic 
abolitionists who are doing their best to pull it dovm.— 



C. SiuarVs Rcmarls on R. J. BrecJciiiriJge's Letter. 



17 



The Congress is not guilty of it ; for it lias no legislation 
«)n lliis siiliject in the Oistiict of Ci)!niiit)ia, where ihecon- 
stilution gives it exclusive legislation in all eases « I'.atso- 
ever ! ! Tiie nation is not guilty of it; llir alih.ongh the 
nation slan(is pledged with ils money and its blood to sus- 
tain it, and actually and powerfully does sustain it, yet it 
is not a national, hut a .State affair ! ! The present gen- 
eration is not guilty of it, for it is the crime of their fore- 
fathers; of the pirate felon perhaps, v^ho first hroiight 
slaves from Africa into Virginia, and of llie/c/o?! farm- 
ers of Virginia who first purcliased them ! 'J'lie present 
republic is not guilty of it, for it was introduced under the 
dominion of Great Britain ; and when the present lepnb- 
lic arose in her youthful p<iwer independent of Britain, ' a 
compromise was made wi'h slavery for the sake of the 
union; ' the present generation and the present repiitilic, 
liaving the curse 'nolens volens' entailed upcjM them. 'J'he 
Legislature of New York is not guilty of it, (although the 
l^egislatiire of !\'ew York sustains it, as far as it deems 
prudent,) because New York is not a slave .Slate. 1 he 
Legislature of Virginia is not guilty of it, (although Vir- 
ginia is a slave-breeder, a slave-trader, and a s!a\eholder,) 
because Virginia is only one of twenty-five. Tiie govern- 
ment of the United States or of either .State is not guilty 
of it, Ijecause the government is not the people; and llie 
people are not guilty of it, because the |3eople are not the 
government. Tlie church is not guilty of it, (although the 
church is a slaveholding church in almost all its branches,) 
Ijecause 'using your neighbtir's labor without wages;' giv- 
ing him no fair equivalent ("or his work; depriving him of 
personal security, so that he has reason to tremble at eve- 
ry leaf that falls ; grinding the faces of the poor; annulling 
amongst them the marriage contract; ffji bidding theui to 
them to learn to read the Hible, or to worsliip God accord- 
ing to their own consciences; regarding and treating tlicin, 
not like men, but like cattle, breeding them, buying them, 
selling them, (with or without regard to their feelings and 
interests,) is ail a political concern, and the church has 
nothing to do with politics! ! ! 'J'he great body of the 
people is not guilty of it, because the great body of the 
people regard the compromise which sustains it with uni- 
versal satisfaction; and individuals are not guilty of it, be- 
cause individuals are not the nation. 

I know not a better illustration of this mode of reason- 
ing, than the manner in which we commonly treat our 
stomachs, as Mr. Combe in his excellent little wiii k on 
digestion and dietetics Ch. 3d, 2d part, i'age 217 has it. 
• If they feel uneasy after a heavy meal, it is not rve who 
are to blame for having eaten it — no, it is the fisti which 
lies heavy on the stomach, or the stomach wi)i<]i is at war 
■with soup, or potatoes, or some other well relished article. 
IVe have nothing to do with the mischief, except as meek 
and resigned sutterers. IVe never eat more than eiiotigh ! 
IVe never devour lobsters, or oysters, or salmon, or cheese, 
or any thing which experience has told us our enfeebled 
stomachs can not digest. We are too prudent and self- 
(ian.ying for that. But some how or other, our stomachs 
get hold of all these things in spite of us; and we must 
pay the same penalty, as ilWe had eaten them deliberately, 
and with malice prepense ! ! Oh, what naughty things 
our stomachs are ! ! It is all their fault, or the' fault of 
the fish, or the lobsters, or the potatoes, or smnething 
filse! but ii'e, poor sufferers, what ^jeneious mind is theie, 
which would not sympathize witli us ! and who, but ill 
mannered fanatics, could think of calling us gluttons or in- 
temperate ! Oh, what a wicked thing slavery is ! it is 
wrong — it is both a moral and a political evii — it ought 
not to last forever ! who does not abhor slavery in the ab- 
stract! ! it is all the fault of slavery, or of our furefaiheis, 
or of the British, or of the African slave trade, or of the 
slaves, or of the Abolitionists, or of somebody, or of some- 
thing else ! but we, poor, suffering, slave-breeding, slave- 
trading, slave-holding republicans and Christians, it has 
^•een entailed on us. Snrely all just and generous minds, 

B 



must bewail our misfortune and f>ympathizC in otir nflliction. 

And who but igtiorant incendiaries C(juld pity our ^hlve.>^, 
whom all the world Knov\s we love so mucli, awh treat so 
kiuilly — or blame us f.ii- i.ur patriart'lial s^sleiii ul bleed- 
ing and working, and buying and selling men ana women, 
and boys and giils", and little inlants loo, like briiBts ! es- 
pecially since there is no one over us to cuuirol us, or to 
prevent our giving them the curse of lavvfiit liberty, wlieli- 
ever we please ! ! Is it not as clear as mud, that we have 
nothing to do with it, except as meek and resigned suffer- 
ers ! ! For who does not know that it is love, not sellish- 
ness; humility, not pride; irresistable necessity, not choice; 
benevolence nut avarice, their good, not our piulil, their 
happiness, not our own gratilicatioii, tluct wk seek — vva 
never flog them, bullet them, confine ll.em, W(nmd them, 
hunt them, tree theui, shoot or otherwise kill ilieiii. V\ e 
never force them to labor for our emulumeiit or pleasuie 
u()on sugar or ci.tlou (dantaiioiis; in tobacco or i ice or 
corntields. AVe place no diiveis over ihein. We keep 
not the Bible from ilieni. \\ e never impede the cultiva- 
tion of their minds. We hamper not thtir luir libtiiv to 
work when they please, and to lest when they pleat- e ; to 
stay where tliey please, and to go wlieie they pitase; tu 
serve whom they please, or to leiu.-e to seive vvliom tliey 
please not. \\ e take not away the tacieu secuiiliei^ of 
wise and impartial law liom their connubial comieclions. 
We never iiiterfeie with their laiiiily guveiiiuienl. We 
breed them not lor the market; v. e biij iliem not; we sell 
them not; we put no tiHters on their limbs or on ilieir 
souls. ' We never do any of these ihiugs which our phi- 
losophy tells us are wrong in the absiiacl and wliicli ex- 
Iierience tells us, are disgiacelul and dangerous. We aie 
loo prudent and benevoknt for that.' bnl some Jiow or 
other, slavery does them all, in sjnteof ll^; ano we, poor, 
meek, suffering creatines are obligea to lear the j.t-iialty, 
as if we had none them, ami weie doing them utiiOeraie- 
ly, and with malice jaepeiK-^e ! ! 

Oh, who does not puy the miserable slave ma.-teis and 
their imhap; y advoraie.-. I \V lio cues iioi uetisl lite iii- 
gratiluue ana impalieiKe (d tlie himioieo, tliei iM.eo, hap- 
py slaves ! Who does not sjAiiii, aii<i al^ove all, who ooe* 
not abhor slacery in the uOeauci .' ni)a wliaigoou son or 
daughter ol llie United .Sl.aes (ihe s.ave-lioiuing « Imicll 
or the slave-holding ie| id.iic) i> lueie, wlio o<.e.- iii.i luve 
ilavery in the pruclue, a.> the bi igiiest gem aim Uic inott 
sacred saleguanl ol llieir couiiiiy s sei^i ily and j.tace ! 
'J he G. 'J'hompsons o) Liiglauo, ana the Vv . L. uaiiioons 
of America may attack w n.it el^c lliey pl>a.-e; but tJaveiy 
isa tit/ua.'t suiject — it i.> tl;e a| pie .,1 Uietye.,| uie Lnion. 
J\o power iiiUfl pieteiid to liiiin tile liee(..,iii ol .-j enh or 
of the piesg amo.igtl us, or any other subject — bin oti the 
subject oi slavery, all must be muiii; lie.. men as weli as 
slaves, in the Lime J .•states as well as in v-luiia, im.fi cose 
their mouths and siletice their pens aiui ciusli men heai is 
even till ihcy wither witliiii inoin, on iii.s suojeci; lor 
'Great IS Liana ol the t,(,'lR»iaiis ! Immaculate, and 
not even to be whispered against with repiuacli, aie ilie 
slaveholders of Ihe ijiiiieo iaiates. J lie uice aie in luuit 
— the sharpers aie innocent I Hail Colu,..bia I liuj.py 
laml ! the land of the brave, and llie home i,| ihe .slave : . 

.Seriously, whatever O. 1 i.umpsoii or ii. j. LiiecKiu- 
ridge, with ihe .N . \ . Observer at liis laii, may s;.y, cue 
sixth paitol the population of the Luned Staie.-, aie.:l..ves; 
without even the inipuialion i>l a ciiuie, ouiiaueu in iheir 
own country, which yi.t claims then alugiaine! culjOct- 
ed to the most ciuel and ignominious ue.uh.-, il they leMst 
opiiression, however iiiujlei able, bui tieaieu, al itasi Qeu- 
eially speaking, only like lav<,ieu beast?, wi.eii mus. icyal 
and pi aisewoi thy. ihe iiiea of thciehc.iig imoe wiihiut 
criminals is Inii the opiate ol the siiinei. V»honietlie 
criminals'? 'J iiey who liaine the iiiiqmly b^ l.iw, ugtiJi-j 
er vviih all who excu^e or susiaiii u : iht; LegiBiatiiieBl 
and people of the United States ! Ihe power ol iJidHio 
has long since ceased to coerce them. Ihe coDiiBuaucs 



18 



C iStua7-fs Remarks on li. J. Breckinridge's Letter. 



for a day, or the immediate aliolilion of slavery, is as pure- 
ly and slriclly a (jueslion ot will with tlieui, as it is with 
tliK rohher, lo continue to rul) till t<i-iniirrow ! or cease 
fioni robliing to-day ! lltiiey chudse lo cuntiiiue il, rTone 
can hiiiilt-r llicin; il tlwy choose tu al)oli>h il, none can 
sa) to them, nay ! l( ihwy are deiei red f. oin ' liosing the 
hands of wickedness, undoing the heavy bindens and letting 
the oppressed go free,' by the apprehension of danger, it 
is a dastarilly fear, unworthy of iheni as men ; if by appre- 
hensions of loss, their apprehensions are as chinierical as 
they are sordid and seKi^h. The sin, snih as it is, is all 
iheir own ; God has graciously awakened iheni (iom their 
dreadful sleep which was rapidly lueiging into deaih ! G. 
Thoni|)son is an evidence, (hat he has not yet pronounced 
the jiiost due of curses upon iIkmm, — ' Ut litem ulone '. ' 
tlieu' own madness proves that iheir consriences sldl have 
life. Yes, it can not be, ihat a people like the people of 
the United Slates, should cwiilinue guilty of such a giant 
system of all shameless and fihhy and I'urious iniipiily. — 
(Janied to the \ery verge of iiKjial death, though ihey 
have been, by slavery, there yet remains too much of maii- 
hooil amcjiigst them for so base a result. They are too well 
inloi nied respecting their own rights, to be incapable of 
awakening to ihe equally dear and sacred rights of others. 
'I'hey have loo lively a regard for the virtuous opinions of 
the world, to continue to despise its awakening scorn 
against them as slave-breeders, slave-traders and slavehold- 
ers; its awakening exhortation to them lo repent, that all 
men may learn to udiuirc and lo\e them. They have too 
many abolitioiiisW among them, from the infant who lisps 
*I abolilion,' then falls asleep in the arms of Jesus, to tho 



hnary headed men, who, after a separation of half a cen- 
tury, first meet in the midst of mobs and in the face of 
death, to combine the means most lawful and most L'hris- 
tian, lor purifying iheir counlry from its foulest stain and 
deepest curse ! There are too many Englishmen and 
iSi^oichmen and true-hearted Americans amongst them, 
ever to let the subject of slavery sleep again. There is 
too much prayer amongst them, to allow ol their again re- 
lapsing into peace in this great sin. The electric storm 
of iriiih has awakened them, tlispersing the miasma in 
which they were dying. The voice of love is wooing them 
to return to God and their brother. And shall they not 
fiearkeii 1 Yes, they will hearken. The last hour of the 
win er's night is the coldest : the hour which precedes the 
rising day is the darkest. Ye.<, the dawn, even now, ia 
heralded and I see the day at hand — ' bless the Lord, O 
my soul, and all that is uiihin me bless His holy name,' 
when the ' desjiotism of freedom' shall be banished from our 
land ami the song of love and joy, shall go up to heaven 
from her millions at last, in truth, proclaiming the United 
Slates to be ' the land of the brave and tlie home of the 
fiee,' and joining in one melodious anthem of gushing grat- 
itude and love to Him, who died to redeem them from all 
iniquity and to purify them unto himself, a peculiar peo- 
j)le, zealous of good works; when G. Thompson and R. 
VVardlaw and K. J. Breckinridge, amidst the ransomed 
myriads shall unite in resolving abstract into practical 
righteousness; gradual into immediate obedience; policy 
into honestv; and the fear of man into the fear of God ! 
Amen. ' C. STUART. 

Whitesboro' 24th October, 1S36. 



LETTER OF ROBERT BERNARD HALL. 



[From the London Patriot of July 2S.] 

Sir, — Your paper of the 20tli inst. contains a 
long letter subscribed 'R.J. Breckinridge,' wbich 
so frequently refers to ine that 1 deem it neces- 
sary to make some reply tiiereto, lest my silence 
should be misconstrued eitiier by him or the pub- 
lic. Allow me to say, however, that regard for 
the great cause of humanity is tiie sotc motive 
that prompts me again to obtrude myself on the 
notice of your readers. Under other circum- 
stances than those in wiiich 1 iind myself at pre- 
sent thrown, 1 should probably be very doubtful 
whether a proper sclf-re.spect would not com- 
mand me to si ' iice ; but situated as I am, I see 
no other alternative but to resume my pen. 

In tiie outset, then, I think it necessary indig- 
nantly to repel tiie charges made or insinuated 
against me in this letter; and also to complain of 
the coarse and contemptuous manner in wiiich 
the writer has seen fit to speak of one of whom 
he confesses he knows nothing. This very fact, 
it would seem, entitles one to courtesy, and with 
a high-minded and honorable man ought to he a 
sufficient reason for a different line of conduct. 
'The individual who signs himself Robert Ber- 
nard Hal!, ' says ho, ' is a total strangfr to me.' 
Now this fact woul seem to be quite unimport- 
ant, but as Mr. Breckinridge has thought proper 
to give publicity to it, I have taken it into con- 
sideration, and in consequence have deemed it 
to be either my misfortune or my fault. If it is 
my fault, I hope Mr. Breckinridge will agree 
with me in esteeming it quite a venial one ; and 
if it is my misfortune, perhaps there may be some 
opportunity to repair it. In either case, however, 
I am not without some consolations; and a chief 
one is, that it is much better to be 'a total 
stranger,' even to Mr. Breckinridge, tlian to be 
too well, known either at home or abroad. J'er- 
buin sal, S,-c. 

But Mr. Breckinriilge says further. 'He is a 
more volunteer in this controversy.' This is ex- 
ceedingly diverting. A 'mere volunteer,' in- 
deed I Am I to be called a ' mere volunteer' in 
a controversy in which I am myself attackeil, 
when together with those who are associated 
with me I am called to account for a public act? 
— when together with their-; my motives are im- 
pugned, and principles and practices the most 
scandulous are imputed both to my brethren and 
to me.' A 'mere volunteer' in a controversy in 
which the bitterest effusions of the bitterest 
spleen are copiously poured out on a body of 
men with whom I am most intimately associated, 
and when there is no otln^r one of tlvir number 
present to answer for them, and to vindicate 
their fair fame ? A ' mere volunteer,' for.-ootli I 



Shame, shame, on the disingenioiis accusation 
Next, I am charged with being an enemy to 
my country, and witli suffering my personal par- 
tialities to iiifluenrc me so far, and so unworthily, 
as to lead me to ' uphold my friend though the 
churches and [)eople of America be unjustly and 
falsely convicted in consequence.' T am cliartred 
too with being so ' deeply devoted to truth,' ' that 
the bear fear that' Mr. Breckinridge 'might de- 
lude the British people and churches into too 
good an opinion of their brethren in' my 'own 
home, forces' me ' to step forth, unknown and 
uncalled, to establisli in a foreign land, against 
light and reason, the infuny of ' my 'ronntrv!' 
I do hope that my love of truth is a stronir^'r feel- 
ing with me- than that of mere love of' '•..uitiy. 
If it were not, T should be unworthy of ihe xi'v^e 
of Christian, nay, even of American. And so is 
he, whoever he is, who claims those privi'ep'-d 
names, even though the highest honors of the. 
Church or State are entwined around his iirow. 
But in my affection for my native land I yield to 
no one, however high his pretentions, and wliaf- 
ever professions he may make, thono-h he exceed 
the vociferous vauntings of. Mr. Breckinridge 
himself. I love that land. 1 Uive her sea-frirt 
shores. I love her mountains and herva'ps — her 
history and her sons. I love her Tree ins'itnrinns 
— the freest upon earth. In heart, in >-nul, in 
feeling, I am all an American. But I pity her 
weaknesses, I lament her ineeni^istencies, and I 
abhor her crimes. I esteem him. and him cnU'. 
as her real friend, who, in the spirit of filial :iffec 
tion, rebukes those crimes, points o'l her ire p 
sistencies, and warns her of her wenkn j^ef. 
And when I see a deep and damninj plagiie-^jpot 
on her very \ itals, threatening to consimie her 
energies and to accomplish her destriiclinn. my 
bleeding heart constrains me to cry out for l>er 
relief, and impels me to put forth every exertion 
to "marshal assistance to her succor. In my anti- 
slavery efforts, therefore, in this country, instead 
of endeavoring ' against light and reason to es- 
tablish hsr infamy,' I seek to redeem the charac- 
ter she has almost lost, and which once she so 
proudly boasted, of bfing free and hapnv. Perish 
the thourrht of partial animosity! Perish the 
idea ofslandering my home — my too dear native 
land! Perish the parricidal arm wh'ch con'd be 
raised against her ! Let that ton'jfue be paralv- 
zed which can defame her beloved name! 

Having thus disposed of the vituperative, J 
pass now to notice the argumentative part of 
this remarkable epistle. 

To my first letter. Mr. Breckinridnfe dei.fns to 
make no further rep'y than merely to refer rho^e 
who are interested in thie controvprsy to his 
speeches at Glasgow. If Mr. B. has diiplensed 



20 



Letter of Robert Bernard Ball. 



me in any othor part of hi:^ letter, he pleases me 
equally li^re; for it tliis is the only reply to bo 
offered, 1 am most ready on my part to abide the 
verdict, wli.cli, upon tb's reference, will be ren- 
dered bv any nnpre]iuli>:ed mind. Certain am I 
that Mr. Breckinrid„fe did then and there prove 
th"? negative of his o>vn proposition, that ' slavery 
is not an American qnestion al uU ;'' and where- 
ever he failed, Mr. Tliomp.son's valuable assist- 
ance relieved the difliculty, and triumphantly 
established the fact denied by Mr. B. In ve?pi'ct 
to the system of Colonization and Gradualism 
also, sufficient light "-as shed upon j\Ir. Breckin- 
ridge's principles and their rottenness, to satisfy 
eve^n the stoutest of th'^ir advacotes. Mr. B., 
therefore, will most cheprfully be 'discharfred ' 
•from the necessity of taking any further notice 
of the subject.' 

Mr. Breckinridge, in consequence, avows his 
intention of confining himself to the examination 
of the facts and arguments contained in my 
second letter, and announces his exprctntion of 
being able 'to prove' all the charaes he had 
made 'out of mv own mouth.' To this work he 
addressps himself wi'h characteristic ardor and 
confidence. Eventually we shall see how well 
he has performed it. 

The first charnre is, ' that this Declaration (the 
paper quoted abovp, and so often menticmt^d.) 
whenever tried, has been more eflTectual lo raise 
a mob, than ever witch's enchantment was to 
raise the wind.' T!ie q'lestion on this charge, 
savs Mr. Breckinridge, is one of 'mere opinion;' 
and he therefore opposes bis ipse dixit to mine. 
But this is not a fair way of meeting the question. 
If it wpxe a mattnr of 'mere opinion,' a reasona- 
ble and candid man is bound to give some rea- 
«on for a charge so grave as that which Mr. B. 
has made. But [ nflirm that this is not a matter 
of m»re oninion ' in such a sense as to e.\onerate 
Mr. Breckinridsre from responsibility to those 
•whom he has accused of such flno-rant violations 
of order and decency, and such factious conduct 
ns he has imputed to the abolitionists of the 
United S-ates. In my last letter, I defied Mr. 
Breckinridge to summon from his ' retentive 
mf^mnry ' one clause or expression in that instru- 
ment which would justifv his weigiity nllesration. 
This he has not condescended to do, for the 
plainest of all reasons; and, as the issue of his 
' jnvesti'rations, he has been onlicred to record von 
tsf invnilua. Instead, therefore, of making the 
required snecification. he has adroitly changed 
his I'rotind: and, in li^u of re-a^serting and es- 
tahr^ihin!? h's nnn'^silion — which, if it meant 
anv^hin?. meant that th^ Declaration was the 
cnnae of UT^bs nr.d riots — he now snys, that 'this 
pupor' and 'those who commend if, have been 
the o'''''ys'nn. to sav th" h^'ast, of r'ot and cotifu- 
pion ab-o'<itolv withnnt parallel in the United 
States.' But this evasive apo'ogy cannot be re- 
ceived, for it still implies criminality on the part 
•fth« abolitionists; it was manifestly so design- 



ed, and Mr. Breckinridge, though obliged to re- 
tract his false assertion, could not sufier the 
opportunity to escape him once more to give his 
brelliren a defamatory thrust. As well, howfver, 
might he charge the Gospel and Paul with the 
uproar at Ephesus, because they were the occa- 
fcion of that furious mob, as charge the American 
abolitionists with disturbances consequent upon 
the promulgatiun of their doctrines, which, in- 
deed, are held to be the same as those of that 
g'orioiis gospel, as preached by that illustrious 
apostle. The philosophy is bad, and, if admitted, 
wuidd lead directly to results the most disastrous 
to the great moral interests of men. Resolved 
into plain English, that doctrine is, that nothing 
should \)e said or done which wicked men disap- 
prove. I know of but one superior Intelligence 
it! the universe who cordially approves of it, and 
of this only in common witli other 'doctrines of 
dpvils.' Tluis am I, on this head, convicted ' out 
of my own mouth.' 

Tiie second charge of Mr. Breckinridge, vi7., 
that the abolitionists 'had organized a party for 
the avowed purpose of remodelling society all 
over tlio nation in many of the most fundamental 
respects, be they social, political, or reliirious, so 
far as the blnclc rare is interested,' I acknowl- 
edge as true, nnd offered a justification, which I 
cannot but bslieve was satisfactory to the British 
public. In respect to this, therefore, it is not 
necessary to enlarge ; and I am convicted of 
nothing 'out of my own month,' because I never 
denied Mr. B.'s proposition. But he asks, 
'Where are we to place Mr. Robert Bernard 
Hall's denial of the charsre of general levelling ? ' 
I answer, just upon this ground. First, that I 
never made any such denial ; and, secondly, that 
tlip Df'claraticm does not propose to degrade any 
■who now enjoy privilesres or eminence, either 
social, moral, or political, but simply proposes to 
elevate those who are now deoraded. It seeks 
not to infrincre upon any man's rights, or to de- 
prive him of their enijoyment, but to bestow these 
blessings upon those who are now unjustly and 
cruelly defrauded of them. Can anv, esnecially 
a Christian, objeci to this ; except the miserable 
slavp of prejudice, and the enemy of thp nejrro ? 

'The third charge complained of and denied.' 
says ?vlr. B., 'is, that it, the Declaration, asserted 
m.r>ral principlps which shocked the nat'on ! ' 
When this charge was orio-inally made. I de- 
manded that the principles intended to be thus 
stio-matized should be pointed out. Mr. Breckin- 
ridoe has never done it. And what are thpse 
shockino- priciples? 'One is.' says he, 'that in 
no case should compensation be made to former 
owners of slaves either in whole or in part.' 
Bfit this is not barely asserted in the Declaration, 
but certain reasons are giv^n for the doctrine, 
makinor it plain that this oufrht not to b** done ; 
and one of them is, 'that slavery is a crimp, nnd 
therefore is not an article to b^ sold.' Did this 
shock the nation ? Another is, 'that it is sinful 



Letter of Robert Bernard Hall 



21 



for any master for one moment, under any cir- Mr. B. thinlid 'every man' of tli.-m 'Jp-crvcd to 
cmnstu-,ice-<, to continue the relation of um-.wr, l)e put into Uedlum,'— n-liut amiab^ xvli-.t Imnl. 
or retain Ins servant m bondaoe.' Then why I'l^e {.-entleness and eminent >i)iri(ualitv 'of feel- 
does not tlie Eible shock the nation, v.luch cun- m<^ dues the 'deh-gatc; from th.- Cioneral' A«-=em 
tains the same doctrine? 'Another like it was, biy of the Presbyterian Church of the US of 
that every slave should be instantly set free, America to the Con<rrenatiopal Union of'Fn-.- 
irrespective ot all conuoquenccs.' So says the land and Wales' exhibit' iSorious-ly— wh'it'''i 
Bible. To say, therefore, that this 'principle' pitiable cbnliiiion of dastardly nrfiud.i-p U■^<,'^lr 



shocked the nation,' is the same as to char^re Brcckmrid^ro Ju-re suffered to'escape him ' }h,w 
the American people with being shocked by the unwise in tlnii-land to attempt to stigmalizo men, 

quite his equals, and many his superTors, because' 



doctrines of that blessed book. Who believes 
it? ' Another was, the absurd statements incul 



It.-' Another was, tlie absurd statements incul- ut their iiaviui: joined in a o-reat moral enterprise 

catin;^ opposiiion to colonization as a clear moral with a ['^w ' nnjlattoes ! ' But I will spare him • 

duty.' The Declaration does not a.ssert this ; it before now, undoubtedlv, he has seen the error' 

contuins but one paragraph relating to the sub- L3t it pass then. Ilardlv can I tru-t mvself to 

joct, which IS in these words:— 'V\^e regard as remark, in reference to' my as=^ociates who are 

delusive, cruel, and dangerous, any scheme of here spoken of by Mr. Breckinridoe as 'white- 

expatriation which pretends to aid, either direct- of no repute.' This is not a cnme at any rate'' 

ly or indirectly, in the emancipation of the slaves, Let Mr. B. remember the despised Nazarene' 




other was, the indescribable outrage of a fpw ous, let me refer him to its worthy President 
hair-brained mulattoes, backed by about sixty This he knew full well when that sentence was 




rp . -^...^>.. ..., wcserved. 

io sneer at such men requires no small dco-ree 
of hardihood, and he that dares tn do it. excites 
our pity, as well as our warmest indignation. ' 

Mr. Breckinridge next proceeds to^the explan- 
ation and proof of his charoe, that the Declara- 
tion 'inculcated social duties which are felony 
by the laws of nearly all the States.' This also 

. , . , . ,^ , ,,., . , '7^. ""«°ft'ie charges denied by me on account 

superior to 'physical force.' If there is any such of its vagueness, and specification and proofs 

superiority, therefore, and if the Conoress was were demanded. These his letter now purports 

enjaged in providino- for a deadly conflict and a • to give, prefaced, however, by an a^o]oaptic ex 

etrugirle of arms, and the Convention in organiz- planalion, whichvirtually adniits. that at"^the time 

ing a system of moral means to bring about a the charge was originally made Mr Breckin 

ffrand moral reformation, then is the assertion ridge was not quite'certain whether the alleged 



ence, " as moral truth transcends physical force ; " 
for which sentiment alone,' he« charitably re- 
marks, ' every man who uttered it deserved to be 
put into Bedliim.'^ Now, the only ' moral princi- 
ple' set forth here is, that the work in which the 
Convention was engaged, was supeiinr in im- 
portance to that of the Congress of 1776, in one 
respect — namely, that in which ' moral truth ' is 




preposterous and vain-glorioug vaunt 



T .„ IT T> ,• •, ■ • -'•y ^■""'min'^"s controversy.' This apology 

In either case, Mr. Breckinridge has not repre- is very well timed, as Mr. Breckinridrre's former 

.'tented his countrymen in the most advantageous assertion on this subject was exactlv~adapted to 

li'j-ht. Severely, however, as that document has lead the public info a belief that the Declaration 

been reviewed, this is the first lime that ever I directly inculcated felony, I do not deem it 

have seen any nnimadversion on that part of it necessary, in view of tliis extraordinary exhihj 

which Mr. B. affects to consider so shocking. It tion of candor, to remark on this branch of the 

IS plainly a mere n/^cr/eg-uen-e on his part, and .subject further thaw merely to say that on the 

IS quite_eonsistent with his usual exemp'ary fair- ftce of the Declaration it. is most evident that no 



^2 Letter of Robert Bernard llull. 

»ier in anotlior stale of thing's to perform, punish- sin, and that, therefore, it ought to be immPtliatoI)^ 

able eillier v.ith tine or imprisonment. The re- nbolished ; nor lias any principle been advocated 

marks on intermarriages between blacks and by them at all inconsistent will), or parnmonnt to 

whites demand no notice. this. That the aboliuon question may hereafter 

In respect to Mr- Breckinridge's fifth charge, take a political turn, is within the range of possi- 

viz. 'tiKil it uiulwtook to aitt'r the laws and con- bilities; but Mr. Breckinridge cannot say that it 

atit'ition of the nation in at least five particulars, will, nor can I say that it will not. Wiioever, 

jio important that success would necessarily have jiowever, arserts that the Abolitionists are a 

tlissolved the national confederacy ; ' I have only political party now, asserts that which is not 

■to reply, that 1 have never denied the proposition, true. 

l)ut merely called on him to explain so delinilely In regard to the sixth and last charge, viz., 

what lie meant, that the quesiion might assume ' that slavery should be instantly abolished, irrc- 

a tanrrible form. This he has done, and 1 have spective of all consequences,' as no reply has 

MO rtTplv to make. 1 before justified all these been offered to any of my former observations 

proposed alterations on the ground of right. To upon it in my last letter, I deem it quite unneces- 

that I adhere, and because that justification has sary to make any reniark. 

not been impeached, notliiflj tiutiier is required Thus having triumphantly disposed of 'Mr. 
to be said. But I denied Mr. Breekinridge's con- Robert Bernard Hall's ' arguments and replies, 
sequence viz., 'that success in these schemes and having thus cojivicted him 'out of his own 
would 7iccessarilii dissolve the national conl'ed- mouth,' Mr. Breckmri'dge brings his letter to a 
eracy*' and <Tave what 1 deemed demonstrative conclusion in one of those extraordinary perora- 
.roasons for that opinion. These reasons Mr. tions in which he uniformly seizes the nppor- 
Breckinridgo lias not noticed, only by conteinptu- tunity to exhibit his peculiar infirmity. In the 
ously observing, that 'it is not worth while to in- commencement of it he charges me with refusing 
^uire' 'what would be the effect of success in to use what I call alcoiiolic v/incs in the Sacra- 
those schemes,' ' first, because Mr. Robert Ber- ment of the Lord's Supper. This charge, when 
nard Hall and nryself d ffcr in opinion,' and, made against the Abolitionists as a body, I pro- 
secondlv because "he assumes that success is im- nounced to bean ' unfounded calumny ;' and by 
5)o-;sible'. Now this is the merest palpable eva- -what torture of my phraseology I iiave been made 
sioii it is neitlier courteous nor fair, nor manly, to say that I am one of those who may be charged 
it is'a sort of 'dodo-insr the question' unworthy with the indiscretion, or what Mr. B. may please 
£)f an upright mind." Of course Mr. Breckinridge to call it, I cannot imagine. The object of en- 
is williuirlo abide by the estimate which will be deavoring to fix this charge upon me, however, 
formed o~f his success in vindicating his opinions is not so very obscure; but was it worthy even 
on ihi; branch of the subject, and also of his sue- of Mr. Breckinridge's fair and honorable warfare ? 
cess in convincing me 'out of my own mouth.' I think not. But we will let this pass, 
iint an incidrntal point here arises on the accu- He returns immediately to the general charge 
nation more than once impliedly brought forward of Ultraism, which he again endeavors to fix upon 
in this letter, viz., that the Abolitionists arc a this class of men. 'It is,' says he, 'prr?- ercc/Zcnrr, 
political party. I say impliedly, because the the. ultra party in America. Some of its leading 
cautious Mr. i3reckinridge does not always speak men are very generally si/spec/eo' by the churches 
out with the most candid straigiit-forward dis- of Semi-Pelaganism ; and many openly rofusp to 
tinctnoss. Somethin<'' still of old habits and use fermented wines in the Lord's Supper.' This 

• • . i:„ - .r.<l It i m nml *-v/^/»ncir*n;i 1 1 u /» Ii fi r rrA 'nT i/Z/cm c*ri ic n ct p r A(it\' no /I nltrnco rvT in- 



tinctnoss. knoun-'iniuy aiui ui inw hu^-ilo ....^ ^4^^, i^.,..v,n^v. .. ..,.^^ ,., ,..,,^ ^^,^. >, Kj..|yp..i. ^ ..... 

associations lin'^ers around him, and occasionally char^ce 'of xtltroism is a stereotyped phrase of in- 

betravs the quolidam lawyer. I afiirm, however, definiteness, which is often used in America as a 

»iotwithstindin(^ Mr. Breckinridge's insinuations, sort o^ dernier resort by all those who seek to as- 

that the Aholitlonists are in no sense a political sassiciate reputations by vague charges, wlipn 

party. Wiiat constitutes a- political party? specificones fail of the desired effect. Mr. Brerk- 

Whiit but a purely political organization for the cnridge has not scorned in this instance to avail 

avowed and single purpose of securing a political himselfof this convenient, though cowardlv wenp- 

cnd ? A political party must have a candidate in on. But in the present case will th'e oojpct be 

the field for some office in the <rovernment. But attained ? It is a pity that the proppnsity in Mr. 

when had the Abolitionists any such candidate Breckinridge cannot be y^ratifiejl. But I ask whiic 

for any office either of the State, or of the United possible connexion can 'Semi-Pi'Iagianism.' or a 

States? Never. What organization have they refusal to use alcoholic winw in tlie Lord's Siip- 

adopted bearing the slightest resemblance to per, have with abolitionism? Is the cause less 

that of any political party existing? None, deserving of Christian natronaje becai-ise some 

They cannot, therefore, be a political party, of its leading men iiold erroneous views, evpn 

The Anti-Slavery Society is a moral and rcli- granting Mr. Breckinridge cliarne to be trnp, 

vrious Society, and nothing else', and their high which I deny? This is a palpable absurdity, 

and holy cause has ever been advocated on moral But Mr. Breckinridge says he knows a ' few mpn ' 

and relifrious grounds, and on these alone. Their belonging to this party whom he ' tenderly 1ovp<=,' 

great foindamental principle is, that slavery is a and he has the presumption immediately to affirm 



Letter of Robert Bernard Hull. 



2'3 



that he fenrs tliat Ills 'affection for them has al- 
ways prevented him from spoai<iiig of the gener- 
al body with that clear and deep aversion which 
duty to God, to the wrctciied slave, and to his 
beloved country, so strongly binds upon his soul !' 
Can it be pussible that such a paragraph was 
written by Mr. Breckinridge ? And is it possible 
that he could itnagine that any one acquainted 
with him or his cause could credit such an asser- 
tion ? What I mijjlit say, I will not say ; I there- 
fore forbear. 

I have now done with Mr. Breckinridge. Duty 
to the cause of truth and humanity has obliged 
me once more thus to trespass on public atten- 
tion ; if I have been betrayed into any undue 
warmth, in the estitnation of any, I have only to 
8ay that he who feels strongly must be allowed 



to speak strongly. Towards him upon A\linso let- 
ters I JKive aiiiiiiadvurted, 1 hav.; no feeling in- 
consistent with Clirislian kindness; our cause is 
now fully before the public ; with him, I say, let 
them judge. If Mr. Brcckmridge'.s .slalcmcnta 
and charges against me and my brethren are sus- 
tained, let the churches repudiate us ; but if not, 
then let the cry of bleeding humanity be regard- 
ed, and let British Christians step forward m be- 
half of the 'suffering and the dumb.' 

Pardon, Mr. Editor, the length of this commu- 
nication, and allow me sincerely to assure you of 
the high respect with which I remain, 

Your obedient servant, 
ROBERT BERNARD HALL. 

2, Queen-street Place, London, July 25, 183C. 



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